Every motorist in Georgia should be aware that it is dangerous and unlawful to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle if he or she is intoxicated. But sadly, too many people take the risk of driving drunk. They make the mistake of assuming they will not get caught or hurt anyone, but the fact is that hundreds of thousands of crashes are caused by a driver who is drunk; and these are not victimless accidents.
There are still misconceptions regarding drunk driving that continue to people in danger. For example, a recent report suggests that even when a driver has a blood alcohol level lower than the legal limit of 0.08 percent, he or she can still be a danger on the road. The results of the study could be very important for every driver in Atlanta to be aware of.
The study examined at least 570,000 crashes that have happened within the last 20 years and found that even small amounts of alcohol can impair a person’s ability to drive safely. Even when they are way below the legal limit, drivers can still be a threat to others. In fact, the study suggests that a driver who has the a blood alcohol level of 0.01 percent, which could be the equivalent of having half of a beer, could still be nearly 50 times more likely to be the cause of an accident.
According to the lead author of the study, having any alcohol in your system appears to put a person in danger of causing a crash on the road. Having a blood alcohol level of anything greater than 0.0 percent can impair a person’s ability to react quickly, make safe decisions and operate a motor vehicle responsibly. In fact, there are people all over the U.S. who support efforts to lower the legal limit of impairment from 0.08 to 0.05 percent in the hopes that doing so will prompt people who have had any amount of alcohol to find alternatives to driving.
Driving while intoxicated can be one of the most reckless and negligent decisions that a person can make. Doing so can put other people in serious danger of being injured or killed in a senseless accident. In order to hold a drunk or even buzzed driver liable for a crash, victims and their families may want to speak with an attorney.
Source: Reuters, “Buzzed drivers under legal limit still risk car accidents,” Kathryn Doyle, Jan. 21, 2014
