Category: Car Accident

In 2012, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that more than 10,000 deaths in the United States were directly related to alcohol, and nearly 350,000 injuries. In Illinois alone, there were 321 fatalities caused by drunk driving, and 41 of those deaths were caused by motorists whose blood alcohol content was above .01, but under .08, which is the legal limit.

According to the latest statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding caused 31 percent of all traffic related fatalities in 2010. Speed is considered a factor in the crash if the driver received a speed-related traffic ticket, or if a police officer noted that driving too fast in adverse road conditions or driving over the speed limit contributed to the accident. Research has shown that placing cameras in areas that have consistent speed-related issues prohibits speeding and improves safety.

A Hebron, Connecticut woman is facing felony charges after she hit and killed a teacher at a local middle school while buzzed. NBC Connecticut reports that the woman was dropping her son off at school when she drove into a designated bus lane. After she realized her mistake, she put the car in reverse and struck a 65-year-old math teacher who worked at the school. The teacher sustained severe head injuries as a result of the crash and died a few days later. Law enforcement officers found no issues with the vehicle, and even indicated that the car had a functioning back up camera. The driver was found to have a 0.07 blood alcohol content at the time of the crash.

While many states like Illinois only allow the use of marijuana for medical applications among specific patients, many other states across the nation have begun to legalize the drug for recreational use. As legalization has become more popular, it seems that the incidence of marijuana-induced crashes is also on the rise. A new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology has found that even though the prevalence of alcohol-related crashes remained the same throughout the test period, the marijuana-related crashes increased by eight percent.

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can have disastrous consequences. Those consequences only increase in scope and likelihood when the vehicle being driven is a large commercial vehicle. Although federal laws and regulations prohibit the practice, many commercial driver’s license holders continue to drive while inebriated or under the influence of drugs.