Errors drunk drivers often commit that can put you in harm’s way
Like most other highways in the nation, South Carolina roads are often busy, chaotic places. Some motor vehicle journeys may later leave you wondering how you ever made it safely to your destination. No matter how cautious and alert you are behind the wheel, you have absolutely no way of knowing what another motorist might do at a given moment.
While it might not seem like that big a deal — after all, you don’t have to be able to read minds in order to be a good driver — another person’s actions (or negligence) could place you at great risk for injury. Take drunk drivers for example; there are several errors intoxicated motorists often make that may cause you to be involved in a collision and, worse, to suffer injury. If that happens, it’s best to know ahead of time what options are available for seeking restitution.
Watch out for dangerous drunk driving behaviors on the road!
You can’t stop another person from consuming alcohol and then getting into a car to drive. (Well, perhaps in rare circumstances you can, such as if you convince a friend or loved one to give you the keys so you can drive sober.) In most situations, such issues are beyond your control. The following list provides information regarding potentially hazardous mistakes many drunk drivers make that could place you in harm’s way:
- You’ve probably known someone who has had too much to drink and eventually nods off to sleep because of it. If he or she happens to be in the safety of a private home, that might not pose a problem. If, on the other hand, the sleepy person is driving a car at the time, it can quickly become a tragic situation.
- An intoxicated person may suffer great impediment of his or her cognitive abilities. Concerning driving, this may translate to misreading road signs, not seeing a stop sign or accidentally accelerating instead of braking at a red light.
- How many times have you read news stories about wrong-way drivers on highways who cause collisions and serious (often fatal) injuries to others? Entering or exiting a highway into oncoming traffic is a common error many drunk drivers make.
If you’re a pedestrian, you’re also at risk for injury if a drunk driver is in your midst. Data shows at least 40 percent of all motor vehicle collision injuries involve alcohol consumption as causal factors. If you suffer injury in a collision that a drunk driver caused, it will no doubt greatly impact your life in many ways. The emotional trauma of such incidents is often as severe or worse than physical injuries.
It has brought many South Carolina accident victims comfort to know they could pursue recovery for their losses against the intoxicated motorists who were responsible for the collisions that caused their injuries.