Arkansas drunk driving accident lawyers explain what you need to know
The dangers of drunk driving have been well-documented for decades. Each year, thousands of people are injured or killed in drunk driving accidents. Specifically, more than 10,000 people each year nationwide die in motor vehicle accidents caused by drunk drivers, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). That’s one person roughly every 50 minutes every single day of every single year.
That’s why news about an alcohol detection system which could prevent an estimated 25 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities is so encouraging. How does the system work? What are the details? The Arkansas drunk driving accident attorneys of McDaniel Law Firm, PLC, in Jonesboro explains what you need to know about this groundbreaking technology.
How common are drunk driving accidents in Arkansas?
Drunk driving accidents in Arkansas happen far more than many people might realize. Specifically, from 2003-2012, 1,769 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents involving drunk drivers in Arkansas, according to statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
More recently, 353 people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2018 in Arkansas in crashes caused by drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher, the legal limit for driving in Arkansas. These drunk driving accident statistics were compiled by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the same organization which recently made an announcement about alcohol-detection systems.
How do driver alcohol detection systems work?
The life-saving alcohol-detection systems could save an estimated 9,000 lives each year if these devices were installed in every new vehicle, according to the IIHS, which recently studied the problem and issued a report about its findings.
“We haven’t made much progress in the fight against drunk driving since the mid-1990s,” Charles Farmer, IIHS vice president of research and statistical services and the author of the study, said in an interview recently with Automotive World. “This is something that could put a real dent in the alcohol-impaired driving problem.”
The alcohol-detection systems would be fairly straightforward. If a driver’s BAC is above the legal limit, the detection system in the vehicle would not allow the driver to start the car. Some of these systems require the driver to breathe into a device while others have sensors which can detect the driver’s BAC based on the ambient air in the vehicle.
How can an Arkansas drunk driving accident attorney help me?
Accidents caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol might seem straightforward, but these accidents often turn out to be very complicated for many different reasons, ranging from the at-fault driver denying being drunk to the driver challenging the results of a Breathalyzer test or a field sobriety test.
That’s why it’s important to have an experienced drunk driving accident lawyer on your side. When you have an attorney you can trust working for you, you can:
- Make sure your accident gets the attention it deserves.
- Make sure your version of what happens is included in the official police report.
- Make sure the at-fault driver’s insurance company takes your accident claim seriously.
- File a drunk driving accident lawsuit if necessary to demand the compensation you deserve.
To learn more about your legal rights and the options available to you, contact McDaniel Law Firm, PLC, in Jonesboro and schedule your free case evaluation with an experienced Arkansas drunk driving accident attorney at our law firm.
