Georgia Injury Law Blog
The death of a popular TV/movie star last month in a fiery drunk driving accident should serve as a reminder to Atlanta residents – avoid driving under the influence of alcohol at all costs. The worst car accidents often involve not only someone driving drunk, but someone driving drunk and performing stunts.
Ryan Dunn, the star of the popular “Jackass” movies was killed in a car accident that occurred in Pennsylvania.Dunn was traveling with his passenger and friend, when the car crashed.The vehicle exploded in flames, and both occupants were killed instantly.Tests later determined that the star had been driving with blood alcohol concentration level of more than twice the .08% DUI Limit.
Drinking over and above capacity seems to have been a factor in the accident.Just a few minutes before the accident, Dunn had Tweeted a picture of him and his friends having a few drinks at the bar.According to staff at the bar, Dunn only bought about 8 beverages, but was served several alcoholic drinks by fans at the bar who wanted to buy him drinks.In fact, police believe that it was these last few drinks that he had that helped send his blood-alcohol levels over the edge.
This summer, Atlanta car accident attorneys expect to see more numbers of accidents involving motorists who are driving under the influence of alcohol.Coincidently, there have been a number of studies coming out about the devastating impact that even a few drinks can have.The same month that Ryan Dunn died in a high-profile drunk driving accident, researchers released the findings of a study which found that even motorists driving under the influence of a couple of drinks, can be impaired enough to cause an accident that ends with serious injuries.Researchers found that the extent and severity of injuries in an accident increases even when a motorist is driving under the legal limit.
There was also another study released last year, which found among other things, that at times and depending on quantity, driving under the influence of alcohol can impair a person more than driving under the influence of drugs can.All of this only underscores the deadly effect that alcohol can have on a person’s driving abilities.
There are a number of ways alcohol can affect a person’s ability to drive safely.It dramatically slows down your reaction times, making it harder for you to react immediately when you see a pedestrian in front of you, or when a car makes a turn in front of you.People driving under the influence of alcohol also have a hard time judging the speed and behavior of other motorists around, often a critical factor in accidents.Besides, alcohol use affects your balance, impacting the manner in which you react to situations.
One of the most deadly effects of drunk driving is that it gives drivers a false sense of confidence, and even encourages recklessness.A person driving under the influence is likely to feel an adrenaline rush, and shedding of inhibitions.This contributes to reckless driving practices like speeding that can further increase the risks of accidents and injuries.