The obvious technique to forestall getting right into a DUI accident is to be sure you haven’t been ingesting whenever you get behind the wheel. However that doesn’t imply you’re protected for those who’re a sober driver.
You may nonetheless get into an accident as a result of another person’s careless driving habits. In 2020, 2,114 folks have been injured and 963 folks have been killed in DUI accidents in Laredo, Texas alone.
Listed below are 5 methods to scale back your probabilities of getting right into a DUI accident whenever you’re sharing the street with others who’ve probably had an excessive amount of to drink.
Get Residence Earlier than Midnight
The previous saying “Nothing good occurs after midnight” positively applies to drunk driving. The very best variety of deadly crashes occur between midnight and three a.m. Attempt to get house earlier than midnight every time attainable to scale back your probabilities of getting right into a deadly automobile accident.
It’s additionally true that fewer deadly accidents occur throughout sunlight hours in comparison with after darkish. When you’re operating errands or in any other case have to be out and about, it’s safer to get the whole lot accomplished earlier than the solar goes down every time attainable.
Know the Most Harmful Days For Drunk Drivers
Not solely are there instances when driving is extra harmful, however there are additionally days when driving is extra harmful too.
Friday and Saturday nights have extra drunk drivers, however holidays are particularly harmful with regard to drunk driving. Essentially the most harmful embrace:
- The time between Christmas and New 12 months’s Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Memorial Day weekend
- Labor Day weekend
- The week of the Fourth of July
The summer season is a harmful time to drive too. Labeled because the “100 deadliest days of summer season,” the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day has extra deadly crashes than different instances in the course of the 12 months. That’s as a result of teenagers are on the street, however the hotter climate additionally coaxes extra folks out of the home, and all these actions are sometimes accompanied by alcohol.
That doesn’t imply it’s important to keep away from driving altogether. It simply means you would possibly need to train slightly bit extra warning if you end up on the street when there’s prone to be extra drunk drivers behind the wheel.
Hold Your Distance From Different Vehicles on the Highway
It’s a good suggestion to observe the 3-second-rule whenever you’re on the street, however for those who’re driving late at evening, for those who’re driving on a weekend, or for those who’re on the street on a vacation, it’s a good suggestion to extend your distance much more.
Holding your distance means driving additional behind different drivers, however it might additionally imply getting round them. If somebody is driving extraordinarily slowly, or if they will’t appear to remain of their lane, you could need to go them as rapidly and safely as attainable. The extra distance you set between you and them, the safer you’ll be.
Train Excessive Warning When Driving Via Intersections
Drunk drivers are dangerous drivers, regardless of the place you encounter them on the street, however they’re particularly dangerous relating to intersections. It’s regular for drunk drivers to run a crimson gentle or exit of flip at a cease signal.
Be further cautious when driving by intersections for those who’re driving when drunk drivers are prone to be on the street. Don’t assume the opposite driver will observe the foundations. It’s significantly better to decelerate, look each methods, and transfer by intersections cautiously, even in case you have a inexperienced gentle, than it’s to finish up getting t-boned by a drunk driver.
Name In Suspicious Driving Conduct
It’s possible you’ll be fortunate sufficient to make it house after you’ve got shared the street with a drunk driver, however another person is probably not. Don’t be afraid to name in one other driver if they’re driving suspiciously on the street.
Drunk driving behaviors that must be reported embrace vehicles that:
- Swerve, drive on the traces, or drift towards the aspect of the street
- Are driving means beneath or above the velocity restrict
- Have hassle stopping at cease indicators and cease lights
- Drive suspiciously, like driving with their headlights off and utilizing the inaccurate flip sign
Simply be sure you pull over to the aspect of the street earlier than you make the decision. It’s not your job to observe the opposite automobile. You don’t need to trigger an accident of your individual by making an attempt to make use of your cellphone whereas driving.
You understand to not drive drunk, however that doesn’t imply everybody else does. Comply with the tips about this listing and you may cut back your probabilities of getting right into a DUI accident, even when it’s important to share the street with a drunk driver.
