Louisiana Lawyer BlogLouisiana Drunk Driving Accidents
Authorities are cracking down on drunk driving across the nation and in Louisiana . In 2009, the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) recorded the lowest number of drunk-driving fatalities nationally in nearly a half a century . In 2009, 10,839 people were killed in alcohol-related collisions. For statistical purposes, a driver is considered to be alcohol-impaired if he has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.
Louisiana had 295 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2009, a 13 percent decrease from 2008. Nationally, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities declined 7.4 percent from 2008 to 2009. The number of alcohol-impaired fatalities in Louisiana involving individuals under the age of 21 was 40, a 29 percent increase from 2008.
The 2009 national average for drunk-driving deaths was 3.5 fatalities per 100,000 people. The 2009 rate in Louisiana was 6.6 fatalities per 100,000 people, nearly double the national average. The 2009 national rate for drunk-driving fatalities involving individuals under the age of 21 was 1.6 fatalities per 100,000 people; whereas, Louisiana’s rate was 3 deaths per 100,000 people.
Nationally, seven out of ten individuals involved in drunk-driving accidents were hardcore drunk drivers. Hardcore drunk drivers are identified as drunk drivers with a BAC of .15 or greater, who have been arrested at least once and who are resistant to changing their behavior despite arrests, sanctions and education.
Despite a modest decline in both national and state alcohol-impaired fatalities, drunk driving is still a serious problem in Louisiana. If an individual has been injured by a drunk driver, he has legal rights. For further questions, contact Broussard, David & Moroux at 888-337-2323(toll free) or 337-233-2323 (local).