(November 2, 2022) Driving on Holiday nights is always risky when it comes to intoxicated drivers on the road, but this is especially true for Halloween night. Getting seriously hurt or losing a loved one is not the spooky most people expect on this festive occasion. Unfortunately, recent statistics found that drunk drivers were involved in 44% of fatal crashes on Halloween weekend. When not fatal, accidents involving drunk drivers almost always involve severe injuries like Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), which can change the victim’s life forever. Fatal pedestrian accidents are also up on Halloween, and 23% of these accidents involved a driver or motorcyclist with a BAC of 0.08% or higher.
Spinal Cord Injury and Drunk Driving
Auto accidents are the leading cause of Spinal Cord Injury in the United States for those ages 16-30 and affect a staggering 450,000 people annually. They account for slightly less than half of all new cases of Spinal Cord Injury in the United States every year. Even more tragic is the fact that alcohol is involved 25% of the time. Additionally, half of these spinal cord injuries are complete, meaning that the victim permanently loses all feeling in the lower part of their body. Spinal cord injuries alter a person’s life forever – and the leading cause of this tragedy is an entirely preventable one. That’s scary.
Traumatic Brain Injury and Drunk Driving
Auto accidents accounted for nearly half of all new cases of traumatic brain injury in the United States in 2019, with 17% of all deaths from traumatic brain injury being “unintentional auto accidents,” according to a CDC report. Those ages 0-19 are the most affected group accounting for 62,000 hospitalizations annually. The very young are highly susceptible to this kind of injury from the sudden, jarring motion of an auto accident, even with modern car seats. Traumatic brain injury can lead to developmental problems and cognitive impairment in the very young as well – all from someone’s decision to drink and drive.
Pedestrian Injury and Drunk Driving
Pedestrian deaths account for about 14% of all traffic fatalities annually in the United States. Alcohol is a factor in almost half of all pedestrian auto accidents, with the driver being intoxicated two-thirds of the time. Additionally, drunk drivers were responsible for 17% of pedestrian fatalities of children aged fourteen and younger in 2016. All of the Halloween decorations up around neighborhoods are distracting enough. Add intoxication, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Unspeakable tragedy can and does occur every Halloween in the United States – but it doesn’t have to.
Injured in a Drunk Driving Accident on Halloween?
You and your family deserve to be able to celebrate national holidays safely. Drunk driving is illegal and dangerous and often ends in tragedy for both parties involved, and everybody knows it. There is no excuse. If you have been injured or suffered the loss of a loved one due to the unspeakably careless actions of an intoxicated driver, don’t go through it alone.
The Law Firm of Carabin Shaw has been helping the victims of drunk drivers in San Antonio and across Texas file personal injury and wrongful death claims for thirty years. Contact Carabin Shaw today at 800-862-1260. We look forward to serving you.