Having a few cocktails at Happy Hour, attended by fellow co-workers, can be a relaxing way to end a long week. However, one too many drinks and then getting behind the wheel represents significant risks, with the evening culminating in the back of a police squad car.
Alcohol affects everyone differently. However, a common thread is the reduced function of the brain, impaired thinking and reasoning, and muscle coordination. The more drinks are consumed, the more impact on the central nervous system.
All of those factors play a role in operating a motor vehicle.
Deaths on the road
On a daily basis, drunk driving kills 37 people every day in the United States. Statistics from 2021 reveal that nearly 13,400 people lost their lives in alcohol-impaired fatalities, a significant increase of 14 percent during the previous year. In 2021, one person died in a DUI accident every 39 minutes in the United States.
The weight of the alcohol measures Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) with a specific amount of blood. Every state in the union, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, limits BAC to less than .08. Utah’s BAC is .05.
It should be noted that the smallest amount of alcohol can have an impact on car operation. In 2021, nearly 2,300 people died in crashes resulting from alcohol consumption, with a driver having a BAC of .01 to .07.
Enforcement of drunk driving laws has significant increased, particularly since the record numbers of DUI deaths in the 1980s. Convicted offenders can find themselves forced to pay for and install ignition interlock devices that force them to blow into the device set at .02 BAC.
Drunk driving charges can change your life. Representation from an attorney may help to minimize the consequences you face.