The top ten ways to spot a drunk driver
In our daily commute we always encounter foolish drivers. We rant and rave when someone cuts us off, forcing us to slam on our brakes, or when someone is so distracted that they cannot seem to stay within their own lane. Usually, we react with annoyance, commenting on how the driver acts drunk, possibly making some gestures to let the driver know of our displeasure before we continue on our way. I was recently thinking about this phenomenon and wondered how many times we ignore bad drivers, excusing them as distracted when they are actually driving while intoxicated. And if we excuse all drunk drivers as bad drivers how many lives are we putting in jeopardy?
Here is a list of ten ways to spot a drunk driver. When you witness these signs you should watch for other signs of inebriation. Stay behind them at a safe distance and contact the police so they may get the dangerous driver off the roads. If we all do our part to catch drunk drivers our roads will be that much safer.
- Veering or floating through the lane Drunk drivers will swerve as they are unable to focus and have a severe impairment of their judgment of distances. This can also lead to over-correcting and cause collisions with objects near the road or other vehicles.
- Hitting or nearly colliding with objects near the road Due to blurred vision, fatigue and delayed reaction time, drunk drivers sometimes collide with mail boxes, telephone poles or parked cars.
- Center line hugging Intoxicated drivers will hug the lane divider in an attempt to avoid swerving and veering off the road.
- Making wide turns Over-doing basic maneuvers is common with drunk drivers because of the difficulty they have judging distances.
- Driving under the speed limit Driving more than 10mph under the speed limit can indicate a drunk driver trying to be extra cautious to avoid detection. If a driver is moving that slowly be cautious and look for other signs of intoxication.
- Tailgating In some instances, tailgating can is simply an annoying and dangerous habit, but it can also be a drunk driver attempting to drive straight by imitating the vehicle in front of them. Tailgating is always unsafe, but even more so when an intoxicated person with slow reaction time is involved.
- Excessive braking With limited ability to focus and react an intoxicated driver may brake erratically and unnecessarily in an attempt to avoid a collision and a DUI.
- Not using headlights A driver not using their headlights may be a drunk driver not functioning well enough to even use their vehicle properly.
- Inappropriate signaling A drunk driver may use their left hand signal when making a right hand turn.
- Stopping for no reason Stopping at a green light, an intersection without a stop sign or an empty crosswalk can show that a driver is not sober.
Drunk drivers are a serious to risk to everyone on the road, including themselves. Learning to spot and avoid a drunk driver is an important part of keeping yourself and your loved ones safe, and we all share a responsibility to report them to the police. If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident with a drunk driver, an experienced Seattle auto accident injury attorney can help you get the compensation you deserve.
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