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Drunk driving behind many child and young adult traffic deaths

On Behalf of | Feb 14, 2017 | Motor Vehicle Accidents

Many things can take the lives of kids and young adults. This includes drunk driving, whether it be by the young person or by some other driver. Drunk driving crashes are a major killer of young people here in the United States. According to a recent study, of individuals under 20 that were killed in traffic crashes between 2000 and 2013, over a fourth of them died in accidents that involved drunk driving.

Among the things the study looked at was what times of the week it is most common for young people to get killed in alcohol-related accidents. The study indicated that weekends and nights see about half of such deaths. The lead author of the study said that such fatalities are particularly concentrated on the evenings of Friday and Saturday.

Such findings are among the things parents may want to keep in mind when developing driving rules for their teen drivers, such as rules regarding when their kids are (and are not) allowed to drive.

The study also looked at how the likelihood of alcohol-related crash fatalities among young people varied among the states based on the types of laws they have regarding alcohol and driving. The study found that states with a mix of tough laws on this front tended to see lower likelihoods of such deaths. Are there any law or policy changes you think Louisiana should make when it comes to trying to prevent these types of fatalities?

There are few things that can be as heartbreaking for a family as losing a young family member to an auto accident. When dealing with such a terrible situation, having skilled and compassionate guidance can be important for a family on many different fronts. Among these fronts is the handling of legal matters related to the crash, such as potential wrongful death claims.

Source: Reuters, “Limit teens’ Saturday-night driving, experts suggest,” Lisa Rapaport, Feb. 13, 2017

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