Both law enforcement organizations and civilian-run charities have invested a lot of time and money in raising public awareness about the dangers of drunk driving. Knowledge about the risks of driving while impaired is so widespread due to these awareness efforts that you would be hard-pressed to locate a single person who doesn’t acknowledge that driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol plays a role in a significant number of crashes every year.
Given that most people know the risk, you might assume that the average driver would avoid getting behind the wheel while under the influence of intoxicating substances. Unfortunately, hundreds of crashes every year in Texas give evidence to the fact that people still drive despite knowing the risk.
How many drunk driving crashes are there in Texas every year?
Evaluating your risk can necessitate looking at the broader danger for drunk driving via state statistics. 2018 is the most recent year for which an analysis from the state is available.
There were 304 fatal drunk driving crashes in 2018, as well as at least 4,986 total collisions resulting from alcohol impairment. Of those crashes, 486 involved a serious injury to someone in one of the vehicles. There were another 144 drug-related fatal crashes, with another 121 people hurt by drugged drivers.
These statistics clearly show that there are many drunk driving incidents that occur every week in the state of Texas, and a handful of them results in crashes, some of which cause injury or even death.
You have rights when a drunk driver hurts you or a loved one
The victims of crashes caused by drunk drivers or those who lose a loved one in a drunk driving incident have the right to take legal action against the driver who caused the tragedy. Pursuing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against a drunk driver in Texas can be one way to minimize the impact of someone else’s bad decisions on your life.