Every day there are about 28 alcohol related traffic deaths in the United States. In 2013, Florida saw 2,494 people killed in car accidents, and alcohol was confirmed in 459 of those deaths.
Right now, the legal alcohol limit is .08 percent. Federal lawmakers are discussing lowering the limit to .05 percent in hopes of decreasing the number alcohol related accidents. I don’t think the government can legislate bad and irresponsible behavior. There are always going to be people who will drink and drive not withstanding the consequences.
A Bad Mixture: Texting While Driving Drunk
A recent article published in the journal Psychopharmacology, researches studied alcohol and other distractions in a six minute simulated drive. The study found what we already know; both alcohol and other distractions individually impact a driver’s performance within line deviations, lane exceedance and steering rate.
When you combine alcohol and distractions (texting, using phone) the danger is increased two-fold, even when alcohol levels are below the legal drinking limit of .08 percent.
One of the authors, Van Dyke said this:
With continuing advancements in technology and omnipresence of distractions while driving, it is becoming increasingly important to study the interaction between alcohol and distraction on driving.
Alcohol’s Impact on your Florida Car Accident Claim
It is important to lock down the facts of your Leesburg, Florida accident claim immediately. For instance, a letter must be sent to the other driver and their insurance company to preserve all cell phone records and data. Some cell phone companies only keep this information for as a little as 90-days.
It is also important to learn about the other driver’s alcohol use within a 12-hour period and the medication that the other driver had in their system because this information coupled with distraction can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful car accident claim.
If you have any questions about a Leesburg, Florida car accident claim, call 352-267-9168.