In fact, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is one of the biggest alcohol-drinking days of the year, leading some transportation safety officials to deem this day as “Black Wednesday.”

In light of tomorrow being Black Wednesday, below, we have pointed out some of the most important facts to know about drunk driving accidents.

The Tragic Facts about Drunk Driving Crashes

1. About 2 in every 3 people will be in at least one drunk driving crash during their lifetime – This is a chilling fact about DUI collisions because it means that approximately 67 percent of Americans will either be a drunk driver who causes a crash or the victim of one of these accidents. What may be more unnerving than this is the fact that the average drunk driver has driven while impaired about 80 times prior to being arrested for DUI.
2. Every 2 minutes in the U.S., someone is hurt in a drunk driving accident – And at least once every hour or so, someone is killed by a drunk driver. This means that, every day in the U.S., more than 740 people are hurt by an impaired motorist, and about 28 others are killed by negligent drunk drivers.
3. Perception & judgment impairments can start affecting drivers after only one or two drinks – When discussing drunk driving accidents, it can be easy to assume that the impaired drivers were really drunk, having extremely high BACs. However, it is important for all motorists to understand that they can begin to experience significant perception and judgment impairments at BACs as low as 0.02. This means that it can only take a few drinks for motorists to be impaired and not fully capable of safely operating a vehicle. In others, buzzed driving is drunk driving.
4. Drunk driving accidents are 100 percent preventable – This may be the one hopeful fact, as it underscores that education and enforcement may continue to deter drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel. It also points to the fact that, when drunk driving accidents occur, the negligent motorists can be liable for compensating victims for their injuries and losses.

Contact a Columbia SC Personal Injury Lawyer at Chappell Smith & Arden, P.A. Attorneys at Law

If you have been injured by a drunk or negligent motorist, contact a Columbia SC personal injury lawyer at Chappell Smith & Arden, P.A. for answers about your options for financial recovery.

Call our firm at 866-881-8623 or email us via the contact form on this page to set up a free, no obligations initial consult with one of our lawyers. During this meeting, you can find out more about your rights, as well as how we can help you.

From our six office locations throughout South Carolina, our attorneys provide the highest quality legal services to injured people and families in Columbia, Alken, Camden, Sumter, Orangeburg, Greenville, Florence, Beaufort, Irmo, Spartanburg, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head Island, West Columbia, Rock Hill, Charleston, Lexington, Winnsboro, Summerville, and throughout South Carolina.