It’s a sad and disheartening reality that people put others’ lives at risk by drinking and driving. Various organizations, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), have fought hard in recent years to prevent drunk driving through educating the public on the severity of drinking and driving as well as pushing to implement laws to fight this serious issue.
Mississippi is not immune to this problem. Here is an infographic showing the 2017 statistics for drunk driving in the state:
The unfortunate reality is that these statistics are only related to Mississippi and many more accidents, injuries, and fatalities occur outside of this area. MADD reports that there are 10,265 deaths a year caused by drunk driving. That’s one mother, father, son, daughter, or friend that is killed every 51 minutes.
Last year, we saw a few states pushing for stricter laws against drunk driving. In December 2018, Utah passed a law that lowered the BAC limit from 0.08, the limit in all other states, to 0.05. Hawaii and Washington have bills in the air that would implement this new BAC limit as well.
California also passed a law in July 2018 that lowered the BAC limit to 0.04 for drivers transporting passengers for hire, such as Uber and Lyft drivers.
While we have yet to see how effective these laws will be at preventing drunk driving accidents, we know that they are a step in the right direction. State and national organizations against drunk driving continue to fight for stricter laws to reduce the number of drunk driving accidents in Mississippi in the near future.
If you or a loved one were injured in a drunk driving accident, we are here to help you seek the just compensation you deserve. Contact Richard Schwartz & Associates Injury Lawyer at 601-800-5339 for compassionate advocates in your corner.
