Over the past several decades, advocacy groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving in conjunction with law enforcement agencies and legislators have worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving.
Unfortunately, many residents in New York still refuse to put away their keys when they make the choice to consume alcohol. This reckless decision puts many innocent people in harm’s way for no good reason.
New York State sees rise in drunk driving deaths
According to records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, alcohol was a contributing factor in 27% of the state’s total vehicular fatalities in 2009. Fast forward a decade to 2018 and drunk driving claimed the lives of 33% of all people killed in automobile accidents in New York State.
In 2014, alcohol was involved in 30% of the state’s accident deaths. That decreased slightly to 28% in both 2015 and 2016 before rising first to 29% in 2017 and then to the 33% in 2018.
Drunk driving deaths in and around Albany County
In the five years spanning from 2014 through 2018, Albany County recorded more impaired driving fatalities than any of its neighboring counties. A total of 33 people lost their lives at the hands of drunk drivers in Albany County during that time. The adjacent county with the next highest number of drunk driving deaths is Columbia County with 14 fatalities.
This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give residents in New York an overview of the continuing problems that plague area streets and highways related to impaired driving. Find out more about how we can help on our Car Accident Lawyers Albany NY page.
