Although we tend to focus on drunk driving, impaired driving includes drugged driving, and for the last several years fatal accidents involving drugs have been on the rise. December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, and a time to remind drivers that impairment is not limited to too much partying during the holidays, but includes the effects of prescription drugs and even over-the-counter remedies taken for seasonal colds.
More than Drunk Driving
Drunk driving laws are not loosening up, but states are starting to recognize and address the dangers of driving while impaired by drugs with laws which are more specifically targeted to drugged driving.
There is finally momentum to see all forms of impairment for what they are, and to help drivers understand that it does not matter why they are impaired, but that they cannot drive safely under the influence, even if it is for a legitimate medical reason. For too long, we, as a society, have focused on recreational impairment, without acknowledging the fact that, when you get behind the wheel it is all the same.
And, of course, we still have the partiers. According to the National Highway Traffic safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 11% of weekend, nighttime drivers tested positive for illicit drugs.
If You Have Been Injured by an Impaired Driver
The majority of motor vehicle accidents are the result of driver negligence. If you have been injured in a car accident due to another driver’s negligence, you can recover compensation for your injuries. The at-fault driver can be held financially responsible for causing your injuries, but punitive damages are not available because the purpose of the average auto injury lawsuit is to compensate the victim, not to punish the person who caused the accident.
In accidents caused by impaired drivers, however, punitive damages are often available. While the accident itself was not intentional, the choice to drive while impaired is clearly a choice to put others at risk. In order to receive maximum compensation for your injuries, and to prove that punitive damages are warranted, you need the help of an experienced and highly skilled personal injury attorney.
