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Speeding and DUI contribute to increased road fatalities

On Behalf of | Jun 17, 2020 | Drunk Driving Accidents, Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

The roadways of Connecticut may have grown more dangerous. As reported by Fox61, the first four months of 2020 saw a 34% increase in deaths related to motor vehicles compared to the same months in 2019. Speeding over 80 mph has also increased; state police are becoming concerned. 

According to research compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 2017, drunk driving accounted for more than 40% of the roadway fatalities in Connecticut. This ranked the Constitution State higher than the same year’s nationwide estimated rate of 33%. An increase in speeding coupled with DUI can reflect a deadly combination. 

U.S. DUI fatalities exceed 10,000 each year 

As noted by the Middletown Press, the NHTSA estimates that someone in the U.S. dies in a DUI-related crash at the rate of at least one every 50 minutes. The rate increases over the holiday seasons with a greater risk of crashes occurring at night. 

Except for Utah, which is lower at 0.05%, the blood alcohol content level that determines impaired driving in the U.S. is 0.08%. NHTSA research, however, shows that about 15% of the impaired drivers killed in vehicle crashes showed BACs less than 0.08%. The data also points to about 300,000 U.S. motorists driving while impaired each day. More than 90% escape apprehension. 

Families of speeding and DUI victims may seek compensation for their loss 

Although impaired drivers and those who speed pose a great danger to themselves, there are also many tragically killed individuals who were not at fault. This includes passengers, bikers and other drivers who chose to obey the traffic laws, but found themselves sharing the road with a speeding or impaired driver. 

When a reckless driver’s actions cause an otherwise preventable death, surviving family members may seek compensation for both the economic loss and the emotional pain endured. Evidence of a driver’s impairment or speeding may serve to convince a jury of a motorist’s recklessness and culpability. 

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