Drunk driving takes a life every 50 minutes

Fatal accidents happen for many reasons; the vast majority of those reasons are easily avoidable. People run red lights, send text messages, brake-check the cars behind them, tailgate the cars in front of them and drive recklessly in all sorts of different ways.

One of the single most dangerous activities on the road, though, is drunk driving. Nationally, government officials note that it takes an average of one life every 50 minutes. That’s 30 lives every single day. In the course of a year, more than 10,000 people usually pass away.

Additional statistics

These are incredible statistics that really make you think twice about getting behind the wheel after a drink. Here are a few more that help show why these accidents keep happening:

• In one study, 26.6% of young women from 18 to 24 years old said that they would still drive if they felt “buzzed.”
• When college-aged individuals were asked if they could still drive safely after having three to four alcoholic beverages, 37.4% of them said that they could.
• One way to avoid these accidents is to use rideshare companies. However, when asked if they did this every time they went out, nearly half of all people from 18 years old to 24 years old said they did not.
• As a result, more than one out of every five people (20.1%) from 35 years old to 44 years old said they knew someone who had lost their life in such a crash.
• Every year, about 2,000 of the people who lose their lives in these accidents are college students.

As you can see, drunk driving is a significant issue. These statistics focus on young people and those in college, and there’s a reason for it: Many colleges have a drinking culture that increases the risks. However, that’s not to say that only college students cause these crashes or lose their lives in them. Not by a long shot. Many people drive after drinking too much, of all ages.

Why do they do it?

The excuses for drunk driving vary from case to case. As noted above, many people just think they can still drive safely. Others feel they have no other way home, or they do not want to pay for one. Still others get so drunk that they have no recollection of driving later and don’t know why they did it. They just got to a point where their natural inhibitions eroded away.

Have you lost someone?

Are you worried you could lose a loved one in a drunk driving accident, or has that tragic day already come? If so, it is critical that you understand all of the rights that you have in Colorado.