As the 4th of July weekend has come and gone I find it sad that we Oklahomans once again seeing headlines in the state’s major newspapers of alcohol related accidents. As a personal injury lawyer I have seen far too many fatality accidents where the drunk driver walks away from the accident unscathed. Although I do not wish harm upon the drunk driver statistics prove that drinking and driving contributes to a disproportionate share of the accidents in our state.
I recently ran across a great article on the website alcoholalert.com which contained a great statistical analysis of fatal Oklahoma motor vehicle accidents and the prevalence that alcohol plays in those accidents. For example, the chart shows that in 2006 twenty-six percent of Oklahoma traffic fatalities were the result of an intoxicated driver. The statistics in other years were even greater. Here is the chart from alcoholalert.com:
Year |
Fatalities |
||||
Tot |
Alc-Rel |
% |
0.08+ |
% |
|
1982 |
1,054 |
608 |
58 |
523 |
50 |
1983 |
848 |
437 |
52 |
389 |
46 |
1984 |
797 |
382 |
48 |
339 |
43 |
1985 |
744 |
353 |
47 |
301 |
41 |
1986 |
698 |
340 |
49 |
285 |
41 |
1987 |
597 |
254 |
43 |
221 |
37 |
1988 |
638 |
298 |
47 |
258 |
40 |
1989 |
648 |
284 |
44 |
257 |
40 |
1990 |
641 |
284 |
44 |
246 |
38 |
1991 |
652 |
292 |
45 |
252 |
39 |
1992 |
613 |
273 |
45 |
242 |
39 |
1993 |
671 |
284 |
42 |
245 |
37 |
1994 |
687 |
281 |
41 |
240 |
35 |
1995 |
669 |
258 |
39 |
230 |
34 |
1996 |
772 |
295 |
38 |
249 |
32 |
1997 |
838 |
328 |
39 |
291 |
35 |
1998 |
755 |
268 |
35 |
240 |
32 |
1999 |
741 |
258 |
35 |
224 |
30 |
2000 |
650 |
229 |
35 |
194 |
30 |
2001 |
682 |
270 |
40 |
234 |
34 |
2002 |
739 |
251 |
34 |
215 |
29 |
2003 |
668 |
255 |
38 |
220 |
33 |
2004 |
774 |
278 |
36 |
245 |
32 |
2005 |
802 |
283 |
35 |
249 |
31 |
2006 |
765 |
243 |
32 |
201 |
26 |
In looking at the graft two things are clearly prevalent. Oklahoma is a small state and too many people are dying needlessly on our roads. Our friends and families are bearing emotional scars due to carelessness and sometimes outright recklessness. We must renew in our minds that cars, motorcycles and any form of motorized transportation is dangerous. There is a reason every state has enacted laws regarding motor vehicles, its because they are a dangerous weapon. Secondly, its ridiculous that over 200 people are dying every year in alcohol related deaths. In the future I want to examine how many non-intoxicated people are harmed by these intoxicated drivers, but nonetheless its important to note that over 200 people die because they wouldn’t take the time to call and ask someone to drive them.
So please, call this a public service announcement, call it a concerned citizen, but please make that phone call and have someone pick you up rather than driving drunk.
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