How Many Accidents Are Caused By Drunk drivers?

It's universally known as one of the most irresponsible, reckless, and preventable things an adult or teenager with a license can do.

Yet, it still happens countless times every single day. There are drunk driving accidents every single day, to the tune of 1 every 50 minutes in 2016.

You've probably guessed what I'm talking about by now—drunk driving.

Drunk driving is dangerous, and drunk driving accidents can cause serious injuries.

This is why most accidents will need a top drunk driving accident lawyer to get them maximum compensation.

How Many People Drink Alcohol?

Before we start breaking down the drunk driving statistics, let's get a handle on how many people drink in the first place.

In 2015, 86.4% of people over the age of 18 reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their life.

70.1% of people reported that they drank alcohol in the past year, while 56% said they had consumed alcohol during the last month.

In the same year, 26.9% of people admitted to binge drinking in the past month, and 7.0% admitted to heavy alcohol use in the past month.

With numbers like that, you likely either drink, or you know someone who does.

Let's take a look at how drinking alcohol affects us physically and mentally.

Car Accidents Involving Drunk Drivers: By The Numbers

• 1 in 3 people will be involved in an accident involving a drunk driver in their lifetime.

• In 2016 alone, more than 1 million people were arrested for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

• An average drunk driver has driven drunk over 80 times before first arrest.

• About 25% of car accidents with teens involve an underage drinker.

• Drunk driving costs the U.S. $132 Billion every year

• If all 17 million people who admitted to driving drunk in 2010 had their own state, it would be the fifth largest in the U.S.

Preventing Drunk Driving

So what can we do to stop people from drinking and driving?

It seems easy, right? Just stop doing it.

But there must be more to it than that since it keeps happening.

The first step would be to implement laws that discourage people from drinking and driving.

These laws already exist, but obviously, don't stop all occurrences from happening.

Sobriety checkpoints are another step, no matter how annoying they might be, that can be taken to keep people from driving drunk.

There's nothing like knowing a cop is going to be waiting for you down the road after a long night of drinking to keep you from driving.

Mass media campaigns are another effective way to keep people from getting behind the wheel after drinking.

Demonizing drunk driving in the media and explaining the dangers and consequences of driving drunk can go a long way in convincing people not to drive drunk.

Reaching kids before they turn into adults is another effective way to reduce the rate of drunk driving.

School-based programs are excellent at convincing kids and teenagers not to ride with people who have been drinking.

Unfortunately, there's a good chance that, at some point in your life, you will be involved in a car accident involving a drunk driver. So that being the case you should always take the proper steps.