Although adults can legally drink alcohol in the United States, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated is strictly prohibited everywhere. Even so, Illinois, just like every other state, is seeing many cases of drunk driving every day. Frequently, that means accidents with property damage and injuries, or even fatalities. Every motorist has a choice: act responsibly and ensure that roads are safe for everyone or drive while intoxicated and risk accidents and other people’s lives.
There are several ways that people can detect a drunk driver. If a driver is making wide turns, drifting, swerving, weaving over the centerline or speeding up and slowing down for no apparent reason, that driver could be intoxicated. Driving on the wrong side of the road usually means a driver is intoxicated to the point of being an extreme danger to anyone around the driver.
If you are following a driver and feel that you are safer by maintaining a distance from that driver, that driver may be driving drunk. It is a good idea to pull over and report the driver to the authorities. The more information you can provide to the authorities, such as license plate number, the better.
In the event of a drunk driving accident, investigators will ask those people who were involved in the mishap if the driver who caused the collision was acting recklessly or was exhibiting signs of intoxication before the collision. If the accident was caused by a drunk driver, that driver will probably be held criminally responsible for damage, injuries or deaths. If you have been injured in a drunk driving accident, you may wish to consider learning more about the potential legal options to ensure that your rights to compensation are protected.
Source: Madd.org, “How to spot a drunk driver,” accessed on Nov. 23, 2014
