Most residents in Georgia have likely grown accustomed to public awareness campaigns about the risks of drunk driving launched at key holiday times like Halloween, Fourth of July, New Year’s Eve and more. The state also has strong laws aimed in part at deterring people from driving drunk. Sadly, these efforts do not seem to be sufficient to get the message across that driving after drinking is not smart.
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of people killed in drunk driving accidents in Georgia went up last year from the previous year. That increase occurred in a year when the state’s total vehicular fatalities dropped. In 2018, 375 out of 1,504 accident deaths were attributed to alcohol. Those drunk driving deaths represent 25% of all traffic deaths statewide. In 2017, the state recorded a total of 1,540 automotive deaths. Of those, 356 or 23% were attributed to drunk driving incidents. This was a decrease from the prior year when 378 people died across the state in accidents caused by negligent, intoxicated drivers.
In Gwinnett County, drunk drivers claimed the lives of 95 people in the five years spanning from 2014 to 2018. In 2018 alone, alcohol was a contributing factor in 26% of the county’s total vehicular fatalities.
This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to let residents in Georgia understand the importance of seeking compensation after a drunk driving accident happens in part to maintain awareness of the ongoing threat that negligent impaired drivers pose on area roads.