impaired driving

Published on: August 23, 2024

How a Lower BAC Limit Could Help Prevent Drunk Driving Car Accidents

Nationwide, the maximum legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level is .08. However, most motorists are not aware their auto accident risks begins to increase long before their BAC levels reach that figure.

While .08 is the maximum limit for blood alcohol concentration across the country, the fact is that many motorists, especially light or moderate drinkers, are likely to experience deterioration in their driving abilities that significantly increases their risks of being involved in an auto accident, even at .04 or even lower. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, alcohol can impact driving ability even after one drink. The average drink in the United States can result in a blood alcohol concentration of between .02 and .04 for a light to moderate drinker. This is sufficient to affect the person’s vision as well as his or her ability to multitask. Imagine a person with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.02 trying to drive as well as respond to phone calls at the same time. His or her ability to multitask is markedly reduced, significantly impacting his or her safety and the risks of being involved in a car accident.

When blood alcohol concentration level rises to .05, there is a significant deterioration in driving abilities. At this point, the person is not legally drunk, but his coordination skills are impaired, and he or she might find it difficult to steer effectively. Vision is further reduced during this stage of alcohol intoxication, and he may find it difficult to track moving objects which makes it very dangerous when he is on the road and needs to observe the behaviors of drivers around him. His or her ability to respond to emergency driving situations is also significantly lower at this point. All of these factors increase his or her chances of being involved in a car accident causing serious injuries or even a fatal car accident.

Published on: December 11, 2023

Drowsy Driving Linked to 100,000 Car Accidents Every Year

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Motorists driving while fatigued or sleepy cause as many as 100,000 car accidents every year. This November, the National Sleep Foundation is marking Drowsy Driving Prevention Week to raise awareness about the dangers of driving while sleepy.

The National Sleep Foundation commemorates the first week of November every year as Drowsy Driving Prevention Week to coincide with the end of daylight savings time. The National Sleep Foundation estimates that as many as 100,000 car accidents every year are caused by drivers who are too sleepy or fatigued to drive. According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than half of all American motorists admit to regularly or consistently driving while sleepy. About 20% of American drivers admit to having operated a motor vehicle while sleepy at least once in the past year. Clearly, there are far too many people who feel comfortable driving a car when they are simply too tired or sleepy to do so.

Some categories of motorists may be at a greater risk of drowsy driving than others. For example, motorists between the age of 16 and 25 are at a higher risk of driving while sleepy. Male motorists may also be much more likely to find nothing wrong while driving in a sleepy condition compared to female drivers. Shift workers and commercial drivers like long haul truck drivers may also be at higher risk of not getting enough sleep resulting in drowsy driving. Apart from these business travelers as well as persons suffering from medical conditions like sleep apnea are also at a higher risk. Apnea is a sleep condition that causes a person to suffer from respiratory interruptions during sleep at night which causes the person to be fatigued and sleepy in the daytime. Sometimes, drowsy driving is the result of taking medications like anti -depressants and antihistamines that may have sleepiness as a side effect.

Published on: September 21, 2023

Sleep Deprivation Could Increase Car Accident Personal Injury Risks

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Too little sleep could increase a person’s risk of suffering not just auto accident – related personal injuries, but also personal injuries from slip and fall accidents as well as personal injuries during sports.

In a new study, researchers focused on 3 different types of personal injuries, including injuries caused in sports, during slip and fall accidents as well as injuries caused when a person is involved in an auto accident, and their link to sleep deprivation. They found that lack of sufficient sleep affected the risk of preventable personal injuries.

The researchers looked at three different categories of sleep – very little sleep which is sleep below 4 hours in duration, short sleep which is sleep of between 5 and 6 hours in duration, healthy sleep which is sleep of between 7 and 8 hours and long sleep which is sleep of greater than 9 hours. They also divided sleep quality into three categories, including the ability to fall and stay asleep, feel refreshed and rested while waking up, and medication use.

Published on: February 28, 2022

Drugs Compound Effect of Alcohol-Impaired Driving

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Driving under the influence of alcohol on its own is dangerous enough, but when a person drives under the influence of both alcohol and drugs, there is an even more dangerous impact on his ability to drive safely. A new analysis of previous studies that have focused on the effect of a combination of alcohol and drugs on a person’s ability to drive safely underscores what safety advocates have always known – that drugs combined with alcohol is a potent auto accident risk.

The analysis of more than 57 previous studies was published recently in the journal Addiction. The researchers were specifically looking at studies that proved a link between a combination of alcohol and drugs on traffic safety.

According to the analysis, the combination of drugs and alcohol has a much more severe and detrimental impact on a person’s ability to drive safely, compared to the influence of only alcohol or only drugs. What is interesting is that the review underscores the different kinds of impact that alcohol and drugs can have on a person’s ability to drive safely. Alcohol, for instance, encourages impulsive and rash driving behaviors like speeding, that significantly increase the risk of being involved in an accident. Drugs, however, do not encourage speeding. In fact, persons driving under the influence of drugs may actually drive slowly, but that does not mean that they are driving safely. Dangerous driving behaviors like veering from the lane are very common when a person is driving under the influence of drugs.

Published on: December 31, 2021

Most Drunk Drivers Wrongly Believe they are Fit to Drive

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

It is well known that alcohol impairs a person’s judgment and reflexive abilities which is why someone who has been drinking should not be behind a wheel. However, most motorists underestimate exactly how drunk they are and almost always mistakenly believe that they are fit to drive. Not surprisingly, a new study finds that self-monitoring and self-evaluation of drunkenness may not help prevent accidents involving drunk motorists.

The study was conducted in Germany which has a legal blood alcohol concentration limit of 0.05. The researchers found in their study that more than 50% of the participants believed that they were fit to drive even though they had a blood alcohol concentration limit that was higher than the maximum legal limit. There were ninety participants in the study, and the average age of the participants was 24. As part of the study, the participants were made to drink alcoholic beverages until their blood alcohol concentration level reached 0.11% or more than twice the legal limit in that country. The study was conducted over a period of two days.

The researchers found that as many as 39% of the participants believed that they had just reached the intoxication limit when they had crossed the limit. On the second day, 53% of the participants believed that they had just reached the legal limit when they had actually surpassed it. This shows that individual ability to determine drunkenness cannot be taken as a confirmation of a person’s ability to drive safely. Self evaluation of driving ability can be extremely prejudiced, and drivers can be prone to making errors in determining their own ability to drive safely.

Published on: August 27, 2021

Lawmakers Address Impaired Driving in Infrastructure Bill

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The massive $1 trillion infrastructure bill that is set to pass has good news for American motorists and traffic safety advocates. It contains language that could signify the administration’s intention to reduce the accident risks caused by impaired drivers.

Driver detection technologies that currently exist as part of driverless cars also help reduce the risks from drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs. In the quest for the fully automated vehicle, automakers have invested heavily in technology that can easily override a driver and prevent an accident. These systems could also be very useful if integrated in current automobiles, and the administration seems to focusing in this direction.

The provision would require the Department of Transportation to develop a technology standard within a period of three years. It would then give automakers a period of two years to develop and integrate these safety tech systems. The provision could require automakers to integrate technology in their automobiles that could detect if drivers have consumed alcohol. The system could prevent the driver from starting the car if the alcohol count is too high, or could place other restrictions on the motorist, thereby restricting his ability to drive and cause harm to himself and others. Another approach could be having technology like lane departure warning systems that could self correct if the car veers off its lane. Eye tracking technology is also in various stages of development at some companies. Volvo has also invested in drunk driving detection technology in the driverless vehicles that it is developing.

Published on: December 31, 2020

Some CBD Products may Increase Accident Risks

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

CBD products have become extremely popular in recent years, as more states, including Georgia, have loosened restrictions on the sale of products containing cannabis for the treatment of certain conditions including chronic pain, anxiety and other conditions. The use of CBD products increased exponentially this year by people trying to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

There may be an increased risk of being involved in car accidents when you are on some types of products containing cannabis. New research indicates that CBD products that contain THC, could significantly increase a person’s risk of being involved in an accident.

There has been concern about the effect of cannabis on a person’s driving abilities. Driving under the influence of drugs can significantly impair a person’s driving skills and increase the risks of being involved in an accident. However, as the use of products containing marijuana increases around Georgia, it is also important for us to learn more about how the use of these products affects a person’s driving abilities.

Published on: March 24, 2017

Single Hour of Lost Sleep Can Double Your Accident Risk

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A large body of evidence supports the fact that your accident risks increase when you are driving in a fatigued condition. But just how sleepy do you have to be to be involved in an accident? According to a new study, your accident risk doubles if you have lost just a single hour of sleep.

A staggering new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety underscores the dangers of drowsy driving. According to the study, missing just an hour or two of sleep doubles your chances of being involved in a car accident the next day. If you drive after getting just 4 to 5 hours of sleep, your accident risk increases by four times. In fact, at that level, you are driving in a state that is comparable to that of a person with a blood-alcohol concentration between .12 and .15. That is higher than the .08 drunk driving limit in place in most states.

There are many studies on driving while tired, but this is the first one that aims to quantify the dangers.

Published on: October 7, 2015

Risk Factors for a Drowsy Driving Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Almost every motorist at some point or another driven while being too tired. This includes driving in a state in which they were frequently yawning, or nodding off to sleep while driving.

Drowsy driving is a silent killer on American roads, contributing to as many as one in six fatal accidents and thousands of injuries. However, there are no reliable ways to measure drowsiness, and motorists are very rarely likely to admit that they were indeed fatigued while driving. Therefore, the actual number of drowsy driving accidents is potentially much higher than estimated.

If you are driving, and notice yourself doing the following, it is time to pull over somewhere safe and take a break.

Published on: May 8, 2015

Loss of Control, Intoxicated Driving Account for Most Motorcycle Accident Claims

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

New data released by a major insurance company indicates that single-vehicle motorcycle accident claims accounted for the highest number of claims processed in 2014.

The data were released by insurer Progressive Corp., which said that it processed 3.4 times more single-vehicle motorcycle accident claims in 2014. These single-vehicle accidents typically involved intoxicated driving or loss of control due to excessive speed.

According to Progressive, it processed more single-vehicle motorcycle accident claims than rear-end accident claims, crashes at intersections, and stolen motorcycles combined. That means that motorcyclists must be more careful and vigilant about their surroundings at all times.