Drunk driving is one of the most common forms of negligence we see on the Upper Peninsula’s roads. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is never a safe choice, but people do it virtually every day. Often, the result is a terrible car accident with innocent people killed or badly hurt.
Common drunk driving wrecks
Alcohol slows a driver’s reflexes, erases their short-term memory and impairs judgment. A motorist in that condition is much more likely to cause a severe wreck than someone who is sober and alert. Driving drunk can lead to any type of car accident you can think of, but a 2018 report from the University of California – Berkeley identifies the five most common collisions that drunk drivers get into:
- Hit object (44.5 percent of the total sample of DUI crashes)
- Rear-end collision (13.5 percent)
- Broadside collision (12.1 percent)
- Overturned vehicle (11.7 percent)
- Head-on collision (11.2 percent)
Any car accident can potentially harm the drivers and passengers involved. But a head-on crash or a flip-over on the highway can each be especially dangerous. Seatbelts, airbags and crumple zones save lives, but they can only do so much. All it can take is one person’s selfish and reckless decision to drive drunk to change your life forever.
Drunk driving is negligence in Michigan
A fatal crash can take away a loved one from your family, devastating them and potentially putting them in serious financial trouble. More often, the victim survives but with lifelong disabilities. Nobody in either of these heartbreaking situations should be forced into poverty because of a drunk driver’s negligent actions.