Drive anywhere in Florida and you’ll see signs blazing the warning to all would-be drinkers: “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”
People still don’t listen. Despite all of the warnings, the social stigma now associated with drunk driving and the stiff legal penalties drunk drivers face when they’re caught, there are still plenty of people who take chances with their lives — and the lives of others — every day.
Take, for example, the recent accident involving a 22-year-old North Port resident who was arrested for driving under the influence when officers found his crumpled Mazda next to one of those warning signs. He claimed to have been merely distracted, but officers noted that he was seemingly unaware that he’d run over the sign.
It didn’t come as a shock when he failed the field sobriety test and blew a 1.66 on a Breathalyzer, which is more than double the legal blood alcohol content for an automatic DUI.
The very sober reality of drunk driving is that one in three traffic deaths can be attributed to intoxicated drivers. In Florida, 8, 476 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver, which is slightly more than the national average. Roughly 2.1% of the state’s drivers will admit to driving after having a few drinks.
This is troubling news, indeed. If you’re anywhere on the roads in Florida, you stand a high chance of encountering a driver who is too intoxicated to be behind the wheel. The consequences of an accident with such a driver can be significant, leaving you unable to work for a long time and saddled with mounting medical bills. Find out what it takes to get fair compensation for your losses.
