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Can I Claim If I’ve Been Hit By A Drunk Driver?

December 8, 2020/in /by

Can I Claim If I’ve Been Hit By A Drunk Driver – Drunk driving accident claim

Despite stringent laws and social pressure, drunk driving is still a serious problem within the UK. On average, around 3,351 people are injured and 666 deaths are recorded due to drunk driving incidents every year. Most would never consider anything so dangerous and disrespectful of human life as drunk driving, but we may not be able to control whether or not we might encounter a drunk driver on the road: so what steps can we take to stay safe?

  1. Be safe.

    Always encourage people around you who have been drinking either to stay home, get a taxi or use public transport – the national drink-drive limit in Scotland is just 22mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath or 50mg of alcohol for 100ml of blood. This means that just one drink is too much to drive safely. However, these can change depending on where you are in the country, so be sure to check the drink driving limits where you are to avoid any penalties.

  1. Stay alert

    If you see someone driving on the road and you suspect they may be driving under the influence of alcohol, keep your distance, and have a passenger in the car phone 999 to report the location of the vehicle and the license plate number.

  1. Be vigilant during peak times.

    There is more drink driving arrests over the weekend on Friday and Saturday nights. BE sure to be especially vigilant at these times late at night when pubs, clubs and other establishments are likely to close.

Can I claim if I’ve been hit by a drunk driver?

Yes – if you’ve been involved in an accident caused by a drunk driver, you could be due compensation either for your injury or even for mental trauma.

Firstly, if you suspect the driver of the other car has been drinking, call the police to issue a breathalyser test.

Secondly, following the incident, be sure to gather as much evidence at the scene as you can. This could be by taking photos with your phone, possibly asking for witness statements from people who may have seen the accident and taking down the drivers details.

Finally, if for whatever reason you are unable to gather evidence at the scene, possibly due to the nature of your injuries, make sure to get a police report following the accident.

If you have been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault and you would like more information, please feel free to get in touch with one of our no win no fee solicitors, road traffic accident claim.