Title: Drunk Driving Victimization
Series: Help Series Brochure
Author: Office for Victims of Crime
Published: February 2002
Subject: victims, victim assistance, drunk driving
4 pages
6,686 bytes

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OVC Help Series

Drunk Driving Victimization

Office for Victims of Crime
OVC
Advocating for the Fair Treatment of Crime Victims

The National Center for Victims of Crime

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What is drunk driving?

Alcohol and other drugs impair driving ability. The term "drunk driving"
is intended to incorporate all forms of impairment. Many states require a
blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.10 g/dl (grams per deciliter)
before a driver is considered legally intoxicated, but driver reaction time
slows with a BAC below 0.10. Vision and depth perception become
distorted, and coordination and judgment are affected. Thus, more states
have recently lowered the BAC criterion to 0.08, which is still well above
the American Medical Association recommendation of 0.05 g/dl.

Drunk/drugged driving deaths and injuries are senseless acts. They are
someone's fault (not "accidents"), so they always could have been 
prevented.

Drunk or drugged driving is a crime. Victims of drunk driving crashes are
not hurt accidently. The crime is the result of two choices made by a
driver: to use alcohol or other drugs and to get behind the wheel of a
vehicle. These choices are as dangerous to the public as using a deadly
weapon and can be just as deadly.

Drunk driving is not a new problem. Thanks to the work of Mothers
Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID), and
other grassroots victim groups, public awareness of drinking and driving
as preventable crime has grown, and the number of state and federal laws
against impaired driving are increasing.

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If You Are a Survivor of a Drunk Driving Incident

Whether you or a loved one is a drunk or drugged driving crash victim,
you may be affected physically, emotionally, and financially. For injured
victims and family members of those killed or injured, the first task is
processing what has happened. Impaired driving crashes are sudden. They
give you no time to prepare. It will take a lot of time just to grasp the
shock and horror of the trauma. The physical and emotional suffering may
seem to use up all the energy you have.

The knowledge that your body or that of a loved one was damaged or
disfigured is very traumatic. If a loved one was killed, the sudden, violent
death that took his or her life probably feels unlike any other loss you have
experienced. You may feel vast swings in emotion. You may feel guilty
for not being able to protect your loved one, even if you know it was not
possible. Knowing the crash could have been prevented may be one of the
most painful aspects of your grief. The injustice of the death and your
involvement with the criminal justice system as a result of the crime may
complicate your grief.

Whether you are an injured victim or a surviving family member or friend,
you may experience a new sense of vulnerability. You may have
nightmares or flashbacks about the crash. Your eating and sleeping habits
may change. You may feel depressed or hopeless and lack interest in
things you once enjoyed. Even though surviving a drunk driving crash is a
terrible trauma, many survivors find that with time they can face life with
new understanding and meaning.

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Where can you get help?

Groups like MADD and RID were formed to support victims of drunk
driving, reduce the number of deaths and injuries resulting from impaired
driving crashes, and advocate for tougher legislation. You may want to
call your local or state MADD or RID chapter or another crime victim
assistance program in your community, or seek out counselors who
understand the grief that follows this kind of loss and trauma. Advocates
can provide you with information and a full range of victim support
services, such as assistance through the criminal justice process. Victim
assistance programs and trained professionals also can help you find out
about crime victim rights in your state.

When a loved one has been injured or killed, the financial impact can be a
second victimization. The costs of medical care, travel, phone bills,
counseling, lost wages, and funerals can be overwhelming. All states now
have crime victim compensation programs that reimburse victims' families
for certain out-of-pocket expenses, including funeral expenses, medical
expenses, lost wages, and other financial needs considered reasonable. All
state victim compensation programs cover mental health counseling for
survivors of someone killed. Many states provide emergency funds that
are available within a few weeks of the crash. To be eligible for
compensation, the crime must be reported to the police and the victim and
victim's family must cooperate with the criminal justice system. Victim
assistance programs in your community can provide you with
compensation applications and additional information.

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What are the facts about drunk driving?

o About 3 in every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related
crash at some time in their lives. (Traffic Safety Facts 1999. Washington,
DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2000)

o In 1999, 15,786 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes,
representing an average of one alcohol-related fatality every 33 minutes.
An estimated 308,000 people were injured in alcohol-related crashes.
(Traffic Safety Facts 1999. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, 2000)

o In 1999, 30 percent of all traffic fatalities occurred in crashes in which at
least one driver or nonoccupant, such as a pedestrian or bicyclist, had a
blood alcohol content of 0.10 g/dl (grams per deciliter) or greater. Seventy
percent of the 12,321 people killed in such crashes also were intoxicated.
The remaining 30 percent were passengers, nonintoxicated drivers, or
nonintoxicated nonoccupants. (Traffic Safety Facts 1999. Washington,
DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2000)

o It is estimated that alcohol was involved in 38 percent of fatal crashes
and 7 percent of all crashes in 1999. (Traffic Safety Facts 1999.
Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2000)

o Fatally injured drivers with BAC levels of 0.10 g/dl or greater were six
times more likely to have a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated
than fatally injured sober drivers (12 percent and 2 percent, respectively).
(Traffic Safety Facts 1999. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, 2000)

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Resources for Information and Assistance

Mothers Against Drunk Driving
1-800-GET-MADD or 1-800-438-6233
www.madd.org

National Center for Victims of Crime
1-800-FYI-CALL or 1-800-394-2255
www.ncvc.org

National Organization for Victim Assistance
1-800-TRY-NOVA or 1-800-879-6682
www.try-nova.org

Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center
1-800-627-6872
TTY 1-877-712-9279
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/ovcres/welcome.html

Remove Intoxicated Drivers-USA
514-393-HELP or 514-393-4357
www.rid-usa.org

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This brochure was developed by the National Center for Victims of Crime
under a project supported by Grant No. 97-VF-GX-K007 awarded by the
Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department
of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do
not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S.
Department of Justice.