What do to if you get hit by a drunk driver in Williamson County

On Behalf of | Apr 16, 2020 | Car Accidents, Personal Injury |

Have you ever talked to a drunk driver? They probably said something like, “I’m not drunk; I have just had a couple of beers.”

What does and does not constitute drunk is a subjective matter. One person is dancing on the table after two beers, whereas another is just getting warmed up. However, what is not in doubt is that alcohol impairs your ability to drive.

Texas Law avoids the need to define if a driver is drunk when they are involved in a vehicle accident. What the law considers is if someone was intoxicated. In Texas, driving while intoxicated is defined in one of two ways:

  • Reading 0.08 or more on a blood or breath test.
  • “Not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol.”

How a court defines, “normal use” is once again, subjective.

There were 7,396 vehicle crashes in Williamson County in 2018, according to figures from the Texas Department of Transportation, of which 347 involved someone driving while intoxicated. That does not mean that in the other 7,049 crashes, there was no one drinking and driving. It just means that if they were, no one proved they were driving while intoxicated.

If you are in a crash with a driver who has been drinking, having a Williamson County attorney to represent you could be the difference you need to prove that the other driver did not have “normal use” of their faculties and was indeed driving while intoxicated.