The holidays are a time for celebration, but sometimes celebrating goes too far when alcohol is involved. Individuals who get behind the wheel while intoxicated can turn a joyful day into a nightmare. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, the number of DUI arrests is the highest of the year. This is referred to as “DUI Season.” According to the NHTSA, over the past five years, more than 800 people died in alcohol-related crashes over the holidays.
The night before Thanksgiving, often referred to as “Blackout Wednesday,” is one of the biggest bar nights of the year. Bars have reported a sales increase of 114 percent on hard liquor and 270 percent on beer. Unfortunately, this all adds up to one of the biggest nights for drunk driving. Additionally, with so much travel occurring (Thanksgiving weekend is the most traveled holiday period of the year), and with 90 percent doing so by car, the combination can often prove deadly.
One-third of all fatalities during the past several Thanksgiving holidays have involved drunk drivers. The CDC reports that from 2003-2012, over 4,000 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver in North Carolina. Additionally, 1.4 percent of North Carolina adults reported driving after drinking too much.
NHTSA data states that between 2001 and 2005, an average of 36 deaths occurred daily in the U.S. due to alcohol-impaired drivers. During the period surrounding Christmas, the number of fatalities increased to 45 per day, while 54 occurred daily over the New Year’s holiday. In 2016, more than 10,000 people were killed and approximately 290,000 were injured in alcohol-related car crashes.
Measures can be taken in order to help reduce or prevent drunk driving. For example, 92 percent of high-risk DUI offenders say that 24/7 alcohol monitoring assisted in keeping them sober during the holiday season. Other helpful strategies include:
- Drunk driving laws
- Sobriety checkpoints
- Ignition interlocks
- Administrative license revocation or suspension laws
- School-based preventative programs
- Alcohol screenings
An Experienced Attorney Can Help
If you or a loved one has been injured in a drunk driver accident, the experienced Attorneys at Daggett Shuler can help. Call us at 336-724-1234 for a free consultation.
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