Binge Drinkers Get Behind Wheel at Alarming Rate – Find Out Your Risk of a New Hampshire Accident

If you found out that one in 10 binge drinkers got behind the wheel after drinking heavily, would you be a little concerned? Most New Hampshire motorists would be terrified to learn that there are people on the road with blood alcohol levels well above the state’s legal limit.

Every year, countless lives are needlessly lost in New Hampshire drunk driving accidents. What is so unfortunate about these crashes is that they are completely avoidable, if only people would refrain from driving after consuming too much alcohol.

A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only showed that drunk driving might be even worse than many have previously believed. The new study was the first one used to try to determine the likelihood someone will drive after binge drinking. Researchers analyzed the behavior of 14,000 “binge drinkers,” who were defined as individuals who had five or more drinks in a single occasion at least once a month.

What researchers discovered is unnerving. According to the study’s findings, 12 percent of the binge drinkers surveyed said that they got behind the wheel within two hours of their last round of heavy drinking. Of these drivers, more than 50 percent drove after drinking in a bar, restaurant or other licensed establishment. Half of the drivers who left one of these establishments had at least seven drinks and about 25 percent said they had consumed at least 10 drinks.

The authors of this study have suggested the need for increased efforts to prevent establishments from serving alcohol to people who are intoxicated. Even though almost every state has a law in place that prohibits licensed establishments from serving alcohol to intoxicated customers, it is very hard to enforce.

It is believed that binge drinking is a factor in the more than 11,000 deaths each year in drunk driving accidents.

If you have been hurt in a Vermont or New Hampshire drunk driving accident, you should contact a Hanover attorney at the Law Office of Van Dorn & Curtiss at (877) 611-9622.