Spokane Young Adults Face Risks in Intoxicated Driving Car Accidents

Young adults are a high-risk demographic group in cars.  Most people view teenagers as presenting the biggest risk behind the wheel. In fact, many teenage drivers do lack experience, and lack the ability to make informed choices about driving behaviors. When teens get into the car with multiple passengers, their peers can also cause a significant distraction which can significantly increase the chances of automobile accidents occurring. If teenagers make dangerous choices and cause accidents to happen, victims should be entitled to pursue legal action. Teens, like older drivers, need to be covered by auto insurance and their insurer can pay for losses after car accidents happen.  

While teens have the highest accident rates, it is not only teenagers who present a high risk on the roads. Young adult drivers between the ages of 21 and 24 are actually much more dangerous than teens in one particular area. One recent Spokane crash illustrates the danger that young adult drivers are most likely to present on the roads.

While teens have the highest overall accident risks, young adults up to age 24 actually are the most dangerous demographic group when it comes to drunk and drugged driving. In fact, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2013, it was the 21 to 24 year old age group who had the highest percent of drivers involved in fatal collisions with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.

Of drivers in this age group, 33 percent who were involved in fatal crashes had a BAC over-the-limit. The risk of drunk driving accidents may be even greater for young adults aged 21 to 24 than for teens, because teenagers are not yet legally old enough to drink. Washington Times reported recently on a fatal accident which clearly shows how damaging it can be when a young adult has chosen to get behind the wheel drunk.

The incident involved a man who was driving under the influence on a Saturday night. His vehicle was traveling on 395 south, just north of Spokane. His car struck two teenagers who had finished their sophomore year of high school last year and who were going to be juniors this year. One of the teens died at the scene of the collision and the other was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center but was later pronounced dead of injuries. The passenger in the intoxicated driver's vehicle was also hurt.

Accidents like this one show how damaging it can be when anyone drives drunk. Young adults who are legally allowed to drink must be responsible with how they consume alcohol and must ensure they do not get behind the wheel drunk and endanger their own life or the lives of innocent victims.  If anyone, of any age, chooses to get behind the wheel drunk, the victims of the accident should pursue a claim for compensation.