Super Bowl XLVII has come and gone, and with it another Super Bowl weekend. Every year this weekend is accompanied by long lines at the grocery store, dozens of football-themed commercials, and of course with a surge in drunk driving.
However, according to an encouraging press release issued this morning by the Oregon State Police (OSP), DUII arrests were down throughout the state this Super Bowl weekend compared to last year. OSP troopers arrested 38 people on DUII charges during 2012’s Super Bowl weekend, but only 31 this year.
OSP troopers also responded to two fatal traffic crashes this Super Bowl weekend. According to OSP’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), alcohol is a possible contributing factor in the latter of the two accidents, which occurred Sunday evening at approximately 8:20pm. Last year three people died in separate car crashes on Super Bowl weekend and alcohol was a factor involved in all of those accidents.
As OSP highlighted in its press release, Super Bowl Sunday has become one of the most dangerous days to drive across our nation due to the high incidence of intoxicated drivers on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 48 percent of nation-wide fatalities on Super Bowl Sunday involve a driver or motorcyclist whose blood alcohol content exceeds .08 percent.
In its 2010 study of Super Bowl accidents, NHTSA also found that alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes was almost twice as high during Super Bowl weekend as it was during the week, and almost four times higher at night than during the day.
Since 2007, OSP troopers have arrested more than 300 intoxicated drivers during Super Bowl weekends. If you or someone who you know has recently been injured in a collision with a drunk driver, then you should contact an experienced Oregon DUII auto accident attorney who can review your claim and advocate on your behalf. Monetary damages might be available to you that can restore you to the condition you were in before your accident.