What is Drunk Driving? 

Alcohol and other drugs impair driving ability. The term “drunk driving” is intended to incorporate all forms of impairment. Many states require a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 g/dl (grams per deciliter) before a driver is considered legally intoxicated, but driver reaction time slows with a BAC below 0.08. Vision and depth perception become distorted, and coordination and judgment are affected.

Drunk or drugged driving is a crime. Victims of drunk driving crashes are not hurt accidentally. The crime is the result of two choices made by a driver: to use alcohol or other drugs and to get behind the wheel of a vehicle. These choices are as dangerous to the public as using a deadly weapon and can be just as deadly.

If you are a Survivor of a Drunk Driving Incident:

You may be affected physically, emotionally, and financially. For injured victims and family members of those killed or injured, the first task is processing what has happened. Impaired driving crashes are sudden. They don't give you time to prepare. It will take a lot of time just to grasp the shock and horror of the trauma. The physical and emotional suffering may seem to use up all the energy you have.

The knowledge that your body or that of a loved one was damaged or disfigured is very traumatic. If a loved one was killed, the sudden, violent death that took his or her life probably feels unlike any other loss you have experienced. You may feel huge swings in emotion. You may feel guilty for not being able to protect your loved one, even if you know it was not possible. Knowing the crash could have been prevented may be one of the most painful aspects of your grief. The injustice of the death and your involvement with the criminal justice system as a result of the crime may complicate your grief.

You may experience a new sense of vulnerability. You may have nightmares or flashbacks about the crash. Your eating and sleeping habits may change. You may feel depressed or hopeless and lack interest in things you once enjoyed. Even though surviving a drunk driving crash is a terrible trauma, many survivors find that with time they can face life with new understanding and meaning.

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