Car accidents oftentimes lead to serious injuries. This harm may result in broken bones, including those fractures that can cause external and internal bleeding. Car accident victims may also suffer from spinal cord, neck injuries, and brain damage. Tragically, many car accidents in the country, including those in the Commonwealth of Virginia, are wholly preventable as they are caused by people who are driving under the influence.
Two years ago, 1.16 million drunk drivers were caught on America’s roadways. More than 10,000 people died because of crashes caused by these intoxicated motorists. It is worth noting, though, that according to recent reports, alcohol-related car crashes are decreasing. However, drug-induced driving also poses a threat to pedestrians and other drivers on the road. So, what is the solution for reducing crashes caused by drunk and drugged driving? High visibility enforcement can reduce alcohol-related car accidents. HVE can also reduce drugged driving cases. HVE brings together sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols in order to reduce the number of dangerous drivers on the road, and thus reduce crashes.
Changing laws to reflect our society may be helpful, too. Seventeen states have established drug laws, whereby it is unlawful for an individual to drive with a prohibited substance in his or her blood. Of these 17 states, five have set permissible limits, mainly for marijuana. However, the laws are not tied to any data that analyzes the level of a driver’s impairment or drug levels in the body. Because marijuana is legal in many states, legislators face increasing pressure to issue policies related to drug use and driving. Naturally, the expectation is to utilize the law to reduce the number of crashes that occur each year.
Despite these efforts, though, preventative laws cannot help those who have already been harmed. So, those who have suffered harm in an accident caused by a drunk or drugged driver should consider taking the legal action often necessary to make themselves whole again.
Source: American Automobile Association, Drugged Driving, Accessed on Aug. 24, 2015