Serving Edmonds, Washington And Surrounding Areas

Fighting For What Matters Most

3 common ways drunk drivers cause damage

On Behalf of | Mar 10, 2022 | Car Accidents

Pretty much everyone knows that driving while intoxicated is both illegal and dangerous. Unfortunately, according to the National Highway Transport and Safety Authority, drunk driving accounts for nearly 10,000 deaths in the United States every year. 

Here are three forms of car accidents that are caused by drunk driving:

1. Head-on collisions

Alcohol impairment can cause a driver to get confused while operating a motor vehicle. When this happens, the motorist is likely to cause a head-on collision in two ways:

  • By veering off their lane: Most intoxicated drivers experience difficulty remaining on their lanes while driving. If a drunk driver swerves over their lane, they can suddenly run into oncoming traffic.
  • Driving on the wrong way: Intoxicated drivers tend to have compromised spatial awareness of the road. Consequently, they are likely to make wrong turns and end up in the wrong way resulting in the risk of a head-on collision.

2. Rear-end collisions

A drunk motorist’s ability to judge distances tends to be severely compromised and their reaction times slowed. Additionally, intoxicated drivers may have a difficult time taking element-related factors like fog, snow or stormwater into consideration when keeping a safe distance from the motorist ahead. As a result, they may have a challenge slowing down or stopping when they should. And this is how rear-end collisions happen. 

3. Pedestrian-vehicle accidents

Nearly 47% of accidents involving pedestrians and motorists are attributable to alcohol consumption either on the part of the pedestrians or the motorists. These accidents usually happen when either party fails to observe basic traffic rules like yielding at the crosswalk or jaywalking. 

Some car accidents are avoidable. If you are a victim of a car accident that can be attributed to drunk driving, it is important that you pursue the responsible party for damages

FindLaw Network