For NFL fans, there is no day more enjoyable than Super Bowl Sunday, California personal injury attorney Mike Bomberger says. But Super Bowl Sunday is also well-known for alcohol-related accidents that result in serious injury or death. The drunk driving injury lawyers at ESTEY BOMBERGER would like to remind you this Super Bowl Sunday that drinking and driving is simply not worth putting your own life and everyone on the road at risk.
It\’s no secret that Super Bowl Sunday is a big day for consuming alcohol, and many law enforcement agencies throughout California are stepping up efforts to combat drunk driving this weekend. The California Office of Traffic Safety has funded a number of Avoid DUI Task Forces in California on February 6th. But law enforcement by itself cannot prevent all DUI accidents. Motorists and football fans must be responsible and make the decision to not drink and drive.
Super Bowl Sunday is second only to New Year\’s Eve as the deadliest alcohol-related traffic accident day of the year, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
According to numerous studies, impaired driving negatively affects driving performance and increases the likelihood of being involved in a collision. Consuming alcohol affects vision, information processing, attention, psychomotor skills, and perception, all brain functions that are necessary to drive a motor vehicle. Even with a very low blood alcohol concentration (BAC), driving skills can be impaired. Despite awareness campaigns, more than 11,000 people are killed every year in alcohol-related accidents in the US.
\”Driving under the influence is selfish. Accidents caused by drunk drivers are 100% preventable,\” says Bomberger, founding partner of ESTEY BOMBERGER. \”Avoiding these accidents is easy. If your Super Bowl plans involve alcohol, make the right decision before kickoff. Designate a non-drinking sober driver.\”
If you are hosting a party, part of your responsibility is to ensure your guests make it home safely. The following quick tips from MADD can help you encourage safe driving at your party:
* Be accountable. When guests arrive, before drinks are poured, confirm that at least one person in each group is prepared to be the sober driver.
* Avoid serving mixed drinks. Carbonated mixers like club soda and tonic water cause alcohol to be absorbed faster. Sweet mixers, such as fruit juice, mask the taste of alcohol and may cause more alcohol consumption.
* Don\’t support underage drinking. Never serve alcohol to someone under the legal drinking age.
* Always provide plenty of food for guests. Drinking on an empty stomach results in faster alcohol absorption.
* Provide non-alcoholic drinks. Guests should always have beverage options that don\’t include alcohol.
* Be prepared to referee. If some guests have had too much to drink, invite them to stay over or arrange a ride home with another non-drinking driver. Do not let intoxicated guests get behind the wheel. They may never make it home.
Impaired drivers put everyone on the road at risk. If you are on the road and you see a drunk driver, call 911. Telltale signs of drinking and driving include driving too slowly, weaving across lanes, making wide, abrupt turns, or following too closely.
The injury lawyers at ESTEY BOMBERGER all too familiar with the devastation that alcohol-related injuries and fatalities caused. \”Our firm has successfully represented dozens of victims of drunk driving accidents and their families. In 2010, we recovered a $6 million settlement for a victim of a head-on collision caused by a drunk driver on Interstate 10,\” Bomberger says. \”But even with a fair settlement, you can never really undo the pain these accidents cause, not just to victims, but their entire families. If you have been drinking, it\’s important to stay off the roads.\”