Drunk driving has long been one of the main reasons for car accidents. Now that technology plays such a huge role in our lives, distracted driving is causing a significant amount of automobile wrecks as well. It’s logical to compare drunk driving with distracted driving to see which has the most negative effects.
The truth is, both types of driving are incredibly harmful. You should make sure you are sober and free of distractions when you’re on the road.
Who is more likely to drive drunk or distracted?
Women are much more likely to text while driving than men. Younger drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 also text and drive more often than other age groups. In terms of drunk driving, over 20% of car accidents involve drivers who are 26 to 29 years of age. Men are four times more likely than women to be involved in a fatal car accident while intoxicated.
Although driving under the influence is a dangerous crime, it’s still widely practiced. It’s important to continue bringing awareness to this issue so drivers of all ages will see the importance of being as alert as possible while on the road.
How does this affect drivers?
Drivers who are texting or otherwise distracted are manually, cognitively, and visually impaired. When a person is distracted while operating a vehicle, they aren’t thinking about safe driving. You can follow this link to learn more about impaired driving laws. The driver’s hands may be partially or completely off the wheel, and their eyes won’t be on the road.
Sending a short text takes around five seconds. If you’re driving 55 miles an hour, you can travel the length of a football field in five seconds without ever looking at the road. Looking down at your phone increases your chances of a collision because your reaction time will be shorter once you realize you’re too close to the car in front of you.
When it comes to drunk driving, it’s important to be aware that your blood alcohol concentration should not be more than .08%. However, if you drink any alcohol before driving, your alertness and coordination will be affected. For instance, even if your blood alcohol concentration is .02%, you won’t be able to see as well, and you may have a hard time doing two things at once. The higher your blood alcohol level, the more impaired your driving will be.
When and how often does impaired driving happen?
Fridays are the day of the week when distracted driving happens most often –17.4% of distracted driving accidents occur on this day. About 15.9% of these types of accidents happen on Saturday. At any given time, 660,000 individuals are using some type of electronic device while driving.
According to statistics from 2007 to 2015, over 25% of these wrecks occurred between 3:00 pm and 5:59 pm. Almost half of distracted-driving accidents happen on dry roads, while over 40% of these wrecks occurred in icy or snowy weather. Studies also show that 59% of the collisions involved some type of distracting actions in the six seconds before the accident.
Drunk driving accidents happen most often during weekends, specifically from six in the evening on Friday to six in the morning on Sunday. Most drunk driving collisions occur between midnight and three in the morning on the weekends.
In 2015, 28% of fatal accidents that occurred during weekend nights were because the driver at fault was drunk. During the week, this number dropped to 15%. A startling 42% of these fatal collisions only involved one car. The most common blood alcohol concentration for these types of accidents is 0.14%, which is almost twice the legal limit.
The bottom line
If you or a loved one was injured due to a drunk or distracted driver, it’s important to contact a lawyer as soon as possible. An attorney will review your case with you, contact the appropriate parties, and help you get the settlement you deserve.
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