Illinois residents have a lot to contend with when they take to the state’s roads. On any given day during the work week they face grueling traffic and long commutes around the state’s metropolitan centers. In the winter they must contend with ice, snow and other dangerous winter weather conditions. And at any time and in any place, they may encounter a precarious drunk driver.
Prior posts on this personal injury law blog have discussed the perils that drunk drivers create when they choose to operate motor vehicles. They cause many accidents and hurt many people, some of whom lose their lives in tragic and preventable car collisions. The advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving has released some telling data on the drunk driving problem in the state.
In the last year, 322 people have died as a result of motor vehicle accidents with drunk drivers. That figure represents nearly one-third of all auto accident-related deaths that occurred in the state during the same one-year period of time. Stated more bluntly, nearly one out of every three people who dies in an auto accident in Illinois does so in a collision with a drunk driver.
During the last 12 months, Illinois law enforcement officials have made nearly 35,000 arrests for drunk driving. This alarming statistic shows just how prevalent drunk driving is within the borders of the state. Though there are a host of state laws on the books that attempt to reduce the instances of drunk driving on Illinois roads, drunk drivers still pose many dangers to other motorists.
Drunk drivers cause auto accidents and in the process ruin innocent people’s lives. Individuals who have suffered harm as a result of accidents with drunk drivers often have rights to compensation for their injuries. Drunk drivers can be penalized by the criminal justice system and face civil penalties for the pain and suffering that they inflict on their victims.
