Our Charlotte, North Carolina Car Accident Law Firm Wants to Remind Everyone to Drive Safely and Soberly Over the Labor Day Weekend
With 1,422 North Carolina traffic crashes resulting in 12 deaths and 903 injuries over the last Labor Day weekend, it is no wonder that State Highway Patrol officers will be on alert for drunk drivers and speeding motorists in an effort to prevent the number of auto crashes that occur this year. Running through September 6, the “Booze It and Lose It” campaign is in effect.
Additional patrols and checkpoints are set up throughout the state. Last year, officers gave out over 105,370 criminal and traffic citations during the Labor Day campaign.
According to findings from a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2008 study that surveyed 6,999 people, even though four out of five people think that driving drunk is dangerous, one in five say that they have driven within two hours of having had an alcoholic drink. 1 in 12 drivers admitted that within a 12-month period they had driven drunk. NHTSA Administrator David Strickland notes that more needs to be done to bridge the gap between people knowing that driving drunk is dangerous and acting in a manner more consistent with that awareness.
More Findings from the NHTSA Survey:
• About 17.2 million Americans have driven even when they thought their blood-alcohol level was higher than the legal driving limit.
• 8% have gotten into a car operated by someone that they thought was too inebriated to drive.
• 40% said they thought they could drive after three alcoholic beverages.
• 11% said they thought they could drive after five drinks.
The US Department of Transportation reports that drunk drivers are involved in 1/3rd of deadly car crashes that occur in this country. In North Carolina last year, there were 11,304 alcohol-related traffic crashes resulting in 8,791 injuries and 394 deaths.
Governors Highway Safety Association chairman Vernon Betkey is quoted in USA Today as saying that the number of motor vehicle accident fatalities could be lowered by 50% if people stopped driving drunk and everyone wore seatbelts.
Our Charlotte, North Carolina car accident law firm would like to remind you to wear your seatbelt, obey the speed limit, and refrain from driving while drunk or distracted not just over the Labor Day weekend but during every day of the year.
State troopers stepping up patrols for Labor Day, Reflector.com, August 29, 2010
Government study: 1 in 12 drivers admit driving drunk, USA Today, August 25, 2010
Governor’s Highway Safety Program Announces Labor Day “Booze It & Lose It” Campaign, North Carolina Department of Transportation
Related Web Resources:
NHTSA
Governors Highway Safety Association
