Drunk driving leads to thousands of accidents and is, in fact, a factor in a third of all driving deaths in New York and the rest of the nation. What’s more, it wasn’t only adults engaging in the behavior. Data from the CDC shows that 5.5% of teenagers drive after consuming alcohol.
A study from CheapCarInsuranceQuotes.com has determined how many high school students drink and drive in each state. Researchers then came up with a list of 15 states that contained the highest rates of such students and correlated it with each state’s drunk driving fatality rate.
Arkansas headed the list with 10.7% of high school students reportedly getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. The lowest-ranked state was Idaho with a still-high 6%. In addition, 25.7% of high school students in Arkansas drink alcohol without necessarily driving afterward. In Idaho, that percentage was 26.5%. Even when not drunk, teens may ride with a drunk driver, and 26.3% of teens in Arkansas did precisely this.
The DUI fatality rate in Arkansas was 4.8 per 100,000 people, and it was 3.4 per 100,000 people in Idaho. By contrast, the national average is 3.4. Utah is one of the safest states with 1.7 per 100,000 people killed in DUI crashes. There, only 2.8% of high school students drink and drive.
Drunk driving crashes can form the basis for a case under personal injury law. Since New York is a no-fault state, only those who have incurred serious injuries, especially ones involving permanent disability, can file a third-party insurance claim. Victims may want to see a lawyer, then, before moving forward. An attorney may, with the help of crash investigators, gather proof of the other party’s negligence and then proceed to settlement negotiations, sidestepping any of the insurance company’s aggressive tactics.
