Drunk Driving Accidents: What Drivers and Pedestrians Have in Common

It isn’t only drivers who need to be nervous on New Year’s Eve. Actually, it isn’t even New Year’s Eve people should be worried about. Data from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration details that it is actually New Year’s Day itself that is the most dangerous day to drive, mostly because the majority of drunk driving takes place after the ball drops.

There is no way to completely protect yourself either. You can call a cab to get you home, but the cab must still share the road with plenty of other drunk drivers. In larger cities public transportation is a possibility, but there are serious dangers involved in boarding a train or a subway after a night of partying. Even walking home is no good, as you still have to cross streets and hope a drunk driver doesn’t hit you.

The statistics are sobering:

• New Year’s Day accounts for over 400 traffic deaths every year
• Between 40 and 50 percent of these deaths are directly associated with drunk driving, with an unknown number of other accidents involving distracted driving or driving while drowsy
• Over half of all New Year’s accidents involve a drunk driver, causing thousands and thousands of serious injuries in addition to the death toll
• New Year’s Day is also the most dangerous day to be a pedestrian, even worse than Halloween, with at least twenty yearly deaths and thousands of other injuries

Though the only way to be completely safe is to stay home, it isn’t fair to expect responsible people not to have a good time. Bad apples mustn’t be allowed to spoil the whole bunch. But if you do go out for a good time and something terrible happens, it is important for you to hold the guilty party to account. Please contact an attorney to help guide you through the process.