Drinking and driving can cause serious or even fatal car accidents. Unfortunately, some drivers don’t realize how impaired they are before getting behind the wheel.
Slower Reaction Times Can Be Fatal
One reason that alcohol and driving can be a fatal combination is that alcohol causes your reaction times to be slower than normal. Thus, if a car stops short in front of you or a child runs in front of your car, you might not be able to stop in time. This can cause car accident injuries or a wrongful death that you will have to live with for the rest of your life.
Difficulty Concentrating Makes for Poor Driving
Alcohol can cause concentration problems. This is dangerous if you are driving because you need to be able to focus on multiple tasks at once, such as steering, operating the brakes, and watching out for obstructions in the road. Concentration problems associated with alcohol can cause you to overfocus or underfocus on these tasks and can directly lead to accidents.
Motor Skill Coordination Problems
In addition to the above problems, drinking can interfere with your motor skill coordination. You might not be able to turn or move appropriately, which can cause you to drive on curbs, weave through lanes, or drive on the wrong side of the road.
Texas Cracks Down on Drunk Drivers
Since drinking and driving is so dangerous, the state of Texas enforces strict penalties for engaging in this behavior. Every person convicted of DUI is sentenced to jail and loses his or her license for a specific period of time. If you are convicted of DUI more than once, you have to install an interlock device in your vehicle that requires you to submit to a breathalyzer test before you can start the vehicle.
If a drunk driver kills someone in Texas, her or she can be convicted of vehicular manslaughter, which carries a penalty of between 24 months and 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Sentences are even more severe if the victim of such an accident was an EMT or law enforcement officer.
Legal Representation for Victims
No sentence can bring your loved one back or make you whole after becoming a victim of this type of accident. However, you may be entitled to compensation. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed in a drunk driving accident, contact the Frisco accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Todd R. Durham.
