Everything is bigger in Texas.
Have you heard that expression before? A quick dash to a google search will readily confirm that many people have, with the saying being referenced by a number of different media outlets.
And although the declaration isn’t of course relevant to all subject matter, it certainly rings true across multiple and diverse categories.
Including this one: registered instances of drunk driving.
To merely state that impaired drivers comprise a troublesome group on Texas roadways would be sheer understatement. In fact, DUI arrests and linked accident outcomes spell a recurrent and top-tier problem across the state.
We underscore that succinctly at the established personal injury law firm of Michalk, Beatty & Alcozer in Killen. We stress on our website that, “Drunk driving is a public safety crisis in Texas.”
That assertion of course begs this question: Just how bad of a problem is behind-the-wheel inebriation in the state? Are DUI challenges comparatively bigger in Texas?
Empirical evidence suggests that they are, and at a deadly level. Data culled by researchers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spotlight Texas in a notably stark and adverse way. Reportedly DUI-linked fatalities in the state occur at a rate unrivaled in any other American state.
To be specific: About 40% of all traffic deaths across Texas in 2018 were tied to a drunk driver. The collective average for all other states was 29%.
That unquestionably spells an outsized problem and the immediate potential for negligent on-the-road behavior to inflict catastrophic consequences upon the general public.
The fact that Texas’ DUI challenge is bigger than that posed in every other state is a compelling safety issue that obviously mandates closest scrutiny and mitigation.