Holidays like St. Patrick’s Day appear to be dangerous times for Pennsylvania motorists to be on the state’s roads, streets and highways. Revelers tend to have one (or more) too many and then, rather than calling a taxi or an app-based driving service, they get behind the wheel of a car, risking their own lives, as well as those of other drivers. Unfortunately, drunk driving accidents increasingly claim the lives of drivers and passengers in the Keystone State.
From 2012 to 2016, 182 crashes that involved alcohol occurred on St. Patrick’s Day in Pennsylvania. Six of the crashes were fatal. In 2016, however, as St. Patrick’s Day was on a Thursday and closer to the weekend, drunk driving accidents spiked. From the evening of March 16, 2016 to the early morning of March 18, 2016, drunk drivers caused 60 deaths across the state. These tragic numbers have resulted in extra enforcement in subsequent years.
Pennsylvania has received a federal grant to implement sobriety checkpoints on nights when people are expected to drink to excess, like St. Patrick’s Day. The goal of such checkpoints is to get drunk drivers off the road and make travel safer for other motorists. Unfortunately, law enforcement is usually outnumbered when it comes to drunk driving enforcement. And that is why DUI crashes continue to happen.
Unfortunately, victims of drunk driving accidents can do nothing to undo a DUI crash. Instead, their only recourse is to seek compensation through the law. With the help of an attorney who is experienced in working with the victims of drunk driving accidents, an injured person can recover monetary damages for injuries, hospital bills, lost wages and other expenses. A seasoned lawyer can help ensure that victims receive the compensation they deserve.
Source: York Daily Record, “DUI checkpoints scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day weekend,” Brandie Kessler, Mar. 14, 2018