At this time of year, it is common that people in Minnesota find themselves attending multiple holiday events. These may include company parties, neighborhood gatherings, family functions and more. As alcohol is frequently served at these functions, people may be more at risk for being on the road with drunk drivers as many people refuse to find alternate transportation or opt not to consume alcohol when going out.
Records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that between the five years from 2013 through 2017, alcohol was involved with anywhere from 24 percent to 30 percent of vehicular fatalities statewide every year. During this five-year span, a total of 498 lives were lost on Minnesota roads, highways and freeways at the hands of drunk drivers.
The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility notes that driving while impaired may be of particular concern during the holidays. Over the 2016 Thanksgiving holiday, 34 percent of all deaths on American roads were attributed to crashes in which a driver had a blood alcohol content of at least 0.08 percent. Another seven percent of deaths occurred in crashes in which a driver had a BAC level between 0.01 percent and 0.07 percent.
Over the Christmas holiday in 2016, a total of 36 percent of people killed in vehicle accidents died in wrecks in which a driver had a measurable BAC. Of those, 32 percent were killed in crashes involving a BAC exceeding 0.07 percent. Clearly, people in Minnesota need to advocate for their own safety as well as pursue compensation and justice after an accident happens in order to get across the message that people should not drive after drinking.