Many people believe only heavy drinking is risky before driving. This is not true. Even drivers whose blood alcohol level is .04 -- half of the “legal limit” of .08 for an adult driver -- are between two and seven times more likely to be involved in a car accident than drivers who have no alcohol in their blood.
The bottom line: Even if your blood alcohol level is well below the legal limit, by driving with alcohol in your system, you are still endangering your life and the lives of others. The only completely safe amount of alcohol to have in your system before driving is ZERO. If you are a driver under age 21 and your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is .02 or more, you are considered to be driving under the influence.
Alcohol affects individuals differently. Your blood alcohol level is affected by your age, weight, gender, physical condition, amount of food consumed and any drugs or medication you have in your system. Different drinks may contain different amounts of alcohol, too. Make sure you know how much alcohol is in the drinks you consume. You should consider one (1) drink to be 1.25 oz. of 80-proof liquor, 12 oz. of regular beer, or 5 oz. of wine. To manage your drinking responsibly, do not drink more than one (1) drink per hour, if you are of legal drinking age. It takes a person of average weight at least one (1) hour to process the alcohol in every drink. More than one (1) drink per hour is very likely to push your blood alcohol level over the legal limit.
In Pennsylvania, drinking and driving remains a top safety issue. Consider these statistics:
- In 2006, there were 13,616 alcohol-related crashes, up from 13,179 alcohol-related vehicle crashes in 2005.
- Alcohol-related deaths were 545, decreased from 580 alcohol-related deaths in 2005.
- In 2006, alcohol-related deaths were 36% of the total traffic deaths, the same as in 2005.
- Although alcohol-related crashes accounted for approximately 11% of the total vehicle crashes in 2006, they resulted in 36% of all persons killed in crashes.
- Alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents were over 3 times more likely to result in death than those not related to alcohol.
- 94% of the alcohol-related occupant deaths (drivers and passengers) were in the motor vehicle driven by the drinking driver; 77% were the drinking drivers themselves.
- 78% of the drinking drivers in traffic collisions were male.
- 79% of the alcohol-related vehicle accidents were during the hours of darkness, usually on weekends.
- Almost two-thirds (64%) of alcohol-related fatal crash victims died from crashes occurring on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
- On average each day, 37 alcohol-related traffic crashes occurred.
- On average each day, 1.5 persons were killed in alcohol-related traffic accidents.
- On average each day, 29 persons were injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes.
If you or a loved one has been injured by another motorist in a drunk driving automobile accident and need knowledgeable legal help, please contact the PA car accident attorneys of Munley, Munley & Cartwright, P.C. by calling 1-800-318-LAW1, or contact us online. For more information about our lawyers and law firm, we invite you to visit www.munley.com.
