We’ve all seen someone take down a few glasses of wine and then drive home like it was no big deal, either in person or on TV. So why is it that our relationship with wine seems so much different than our relationship with hard alcohol or beer? Wine has been made the lesser of all evils when it comes to drinking and then driving.
Unfortunately, once the damage is done, it seems like it doesn’t even matter why wine seems fine, and anything else is a disaster. The problem is that you’re hurt, you’re probably in a hospital or were recently released, and in that time you’ve spent in pain, the other driver is likely doing just fine. In fact, they may have even poured themselves another glass, because why not? In any kind of drunk driving accident, you need to get in contact with one of our Columbia drunk driving attorneys right away.
Why Do People Think That Wine is a Safer Option?
The trouble is that we’re comparing the percentage of alcohol without much consideration to the volume consumed or the pace at which it’s ingested. For example, people see hard liquor or spirits as a form of alcohol-containing between 35-40% of alcohol by volume. Some can be extraordinarily higher than 40%. Then people see beer as a far less severe option because the average alcohol percentage in beer is 4.5%, and then wine is 12%. But the media doesn’t depict people drinking wine the way they drink beer.
People envision others drinking wine for enjoyment, savoring the taste, and using it to play up a meal. Not kicking back glass after glass the way we see TV characters drinking beer or taking shots.
The Truth About Alcohol and Driving
Alcohol severely impacts a person’s ability to respond to changing circumstances around them. That includes changing road conditions, traffic, and even static elements of the road, such as stop signs.
Even after one drink, a person could become impaired and not reach the 0.08% BAC limit. It isn’t uncommon for a person to have a few glasses of wine and be under the limit but be severely impaired. Typically when drinking wine, people feel comfortable driving because, in their mind, they are thinking that they haven’t been drinking hard liquor, and they’ve been drinking slowly over a longer period of time. Both are justifications commonly used for drinking and driving, but neither is excusable actions.
Why Is 0.08% The Limit?
There is a long history and much debate over the generalized BAC limit. By comparison to other countries, 0.08% BAC is rather high. In China and Norway, the limit is 0.02, and in Brazil, there is zero-tolerance. But most countries have decided that 0.05% is a fair BAC.
Within the United States, the primary argument is that many people would reach the 0.05% BAC limit within one drink, including a glass of wine. But what is that to say about our current bar for drunkenness behind the wheel?
DUI Injuries – What To Expect in Recovery
Most of the time, drunk driving injuries would be much worse for the victim than the driver who was drinking. This happens for a number of reasons, but the important part of taking note of is that the driver probably had zero response before impact. That means they did not decrease their speed or attempt to evade the accident.
For the victim, it means high impact blunt force trauma, and typically within DUI injuries, you’ll see not only brain injuries but other blunt force trauma injuries as well. It’s very common for DUI victims to have knee and joint damage and broken bones, where these are typically less common in accidents that don’t involve drinking.
Car Accident Attorneys Help Victims Fight for Fairness in Resolution
At Connell Law, you’ll have a team of people who understand that standing up as a DUI victim isn’t easy. But with the proper support team and a skilled car accident attorney, you can change the course of your crash resolution. Throughout your recovery, you may be faced with new challenges and expenses that all came from a few glasses of wine. While you’re doing, you can put your attorney to work.
A Columbia attorney that specializes in crash resolution should take charge of finding your evidence, putting a medical lien into place, and more. They should draw clear lines and set fair expectations with the involved insurance company because clearly, this was the fault of the other driver. As a victim, you deserve compensation to at least cover your damages.