It’s almost Fourth of July weekend, which suggests parties, celebratory fireworks and disappointing burgers served by dads who don’t actually know what they’re doing on the grill. But hey, that is nothing a pleasant, thick slice of unmelted cheddar cheese cannot make worse. Unfortunately, I could not give you the option to persuade everyone to serve something higher than overcooked baseball-shaped burgers, but hopefully, I can at the very least persuade you to be extra careful on the road this week and provide you with a plan to avoid drunk and even tipsy driving on one in all the deadliest weekends of the 12 months.
In keeping with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 617 people died in automobile crashes throughout the 2023 Fourth of July holiday period, with 38% of those attributed to drunk driving crashes. That is 233 deaths related to drunk driving. Between 2019 and 2023, we saw 2,653 road deaths related to Fourth of July celebrations, with the same 38% of crashes brought on by drunk drivers. Young people between the ages of 21 and 34 were more prone to drive drunk, accounting for 48% of drunk drivers in deadly crashes.
It could be great if “drinking and driving could kill you or another person” were enough to persuade people to remain sober while they’re on the road, but unfortunately, it’s not. So it is also value reminding everyone that the cops also know people like to drink and drive over the vacation weekend, and can likely be out in force over the following week, specifically in search of drunk drivers. If the chance of killing yourself or others is not enough to maintain you from driving while intoxicated, perhaps the specter of being arrested and charged with a DUI that would easily cost you greater than $10,000 will.
Tipsy driving continues to be dangerous
It is simple to assume most of those crashes were brought on by drivers who were seriously intoxicated, and you’ll, in fact, never drive in the event you were truly drunk, but because the NHTSA stats show, in 2023, only 27% of the deadly Fourth of July drunk driving crashes involved a driver with a blood-alcohol content twice the legal limit or more. The overwhelming majority of those crashes involved drivers with lower BACs who likely thought they were good to drive but actually weren’t.
On top of that, many states have impaired driving laws that allow officers to arrest drivers whose BAC is below the legal limit. In Georgia, for instance, you’ll be able to be charged with DUI Less Protected, even in the event you aren’t legally above the limit. And on a vacation weekend known for drunk driving, expect any officer who can hand one in all those out to achieve this.
Considering how hot it’ll most definitely be, it’s very comprehensible that you just’d need to have a good time the vacation weekend with just a few cold ones, but in the event you plan to achieve this, please provide you with a plan to get home without driving. Even the exorbitant cost of an Uber might be far cheaper than the price of a DUI, and it also doesn’t include the added risk of killing yourself or another person.
After all, that is so much easier to do in the event you’re one in all the few U.S. Americans who live in an actual city that provides a semi-functional public transportation system, since you’ll be able to just take the train or walk home. Most Americans, nonetheless, are stuck getting around by automobile on roads filled with drunk, dangerous drivers, and we actually hope each one in all you stays protected this 12 months. We want your clicks, and you’ll be able to’t click the blogs in the event you’re dead or in prison.
This Article First Appeared At www.jalopnik.com
