Impaired Driving
Car accidents are a major public safety problem in Southern Nevada. According to data from the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), more than 51,000 collisions happen in the state each year. Most of these crashes are preventable. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of car accidents occur because of driver error. A study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that driver error was a causal factor in as much as 95 percent of all motor vehicle accidents.
While vehicle operator errors come in many different forms, most errors involve some sort of impaired driving. At Naqvi Injury Law, our top-rated Las Vegas Nevada impaired driving attorneys have extensive experience handling all types of impaired driving accident claims. Here, we have put together a comprehensive guide on the most common types of impaired driving accidents.
1. Drunk Driving
Drunk driving is one of the most dangerous forms of impaired driving. The Nevada Department of Public Safety reports that nearly 75 people are killed in intoxicated driving accidents each year. Many more innocent people are severely injured. To put these numbers into perspective, this means that drunk driving is a factor in approximately 25 percent of all deadly car accidents in Nevada.
2. Dirty Windows
It may sound somewhat trivial, but driving with dirty windows is incredibly dangerous. Reduced visibility creates hazardous driving conditions. Keeping your vehicle’s windows clean is fundamentally a safety issue. All drivers have a legal responsibility to ensure that their view of the road is unobstructed.
3. Blind Driving
To be capable of safely operating a vehicle, a driver needs to be able to clearly see the road. This is why the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has created a vision test that must be passed before a license can be issued. If a driver is not capable of seeing the road clearly, either because their vision has deteriorated or because they are not wearing their glasses, then they are simply too impaired to be behind the wheel.
4. Nighttime Driving
Driving at night is an inherent impairment. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), night driving is significantly more dangerous than day driving. To adjust for the reduced visibility, Las Vegas drivers have a duty to take extra safety precautions.
5. Loud Music
Loud music can be a major impairment on drivers. When you are behind the wheel, you need to be able to hear what is going on around you. If music is too loud for a driver to listen to their surroundings, they are driving with an impairment. This is unacceptably dangerous.
6. Media Usage/Phone and DVDs
Vehicle media usage is becoming a major impairment in Nevada. In some cases, this media usage comes from the phone of the driver or the phone one of their passengers. Though, it can also come from an in-car infotainment system, which can play music, movies, sports, and display other media. Recently, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released a report finding that infotainment systems make accidents more likely.
7. Texting While Driving
Texting while driving is one of the fastest growing types of distracted driving. Texting while driving is never safe. Traffic safety researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) found that texting is an impairment that dramatically increases driving errors. Texting drivers are more likely to have a slow reaction time, swerve unintentionally, and accidentally accelerate.
Ultimately, these forms of impaired driving are inherently negligent. Anyone who has been injured by an impaired driver should contact an attorney for immediate help with their case.