Did you know that the roadways of Illinois are among some of the safest in the nation? This is largely due to the state’s strict laws on drunk and distracted driving, which continue to be recognized and praised around the country.

Drunk driving accidents are some of the most preventable yet common causes for fatalities and serious injuries, and the state of Illinois is dedicated to the prevention of these incidents through tough, efficient law enforcement that aims to hold offenders accountable.

These standards, combined with the ongoing collection and study of collision statistics, allow the state to provide drivers with factual information that equips them to be proactive and responsible before they get behind the wheel.

Even with strict laws, drunk drivers continue to cause accidents and injure people every year. When a car accident involves a drunk driver, there are several issues you need to understand before trying to get compensated for your injuries.

The Claims Process

Some people mistakenly believe that it is easier to deal with a drunk driving accident case than a regular car accident. However, handling a claim is about more than just proving fault. Before you can successfully receive the compensation you deserve, you will have to prove that the drunk driver was the cause of your injuries. You will also have to prove how much the injuries impacted your life.

Drunk driving is not a new problem, nor are governmental programs initiated as a means to combat it. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) first Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by drivers was first conducted in 1973, and since then the rate of drunk driving has continually declined. That is not to say that the problem is solved — about one in three traffic deaths in the United States involve an intoxicated driver with a blood alcohol content above the legal level and in 2012 it was estimated that drunk drivers got behind the wheel roughly 112 million times in 2010 alone.

Illinois — likely in part to the severe crackdowns around major metropolitan areas, especially Chicago — had a slightly lower rate of drunk driving fatalities than was the national average in 2012. Residents of the state may also be more willing to admit when they got behind the wheel when they should not have. Less than 2 percent of the national population admits to driving after drinking too much, while 2.2 percent of Illinois residents purport to having done so in the past 30 days.

While this information may be sobering — and alcohol is still the intoxicant which causes the vast majority of DUI accidents — recent studies show that trends are moving away from alcohol when it comes to DUI fatalities even as the use of other drugs by a driver are increasing. The 2015 NHTSA Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use found that the number of drivers with any alcohol in their bloodstream had decreased by more than 30 percent in the past eight years, while the same time period saw a marked increase in the number of drivers having gotten behind the wheel after smoking marijuana or using other illegal drugs.

The Governor of Illinois recently signed a new law which many fear will cause an increase in the number of drunk drivers there are on the state’s road – ultimately leading to more injuries and fatalities from crashes caused by those drunk drivers.

The new law opens the door for businesses which serve alcohol to offer “happy hours” to their customers. Happy hours were banned by Illinois lawmakers in 1989, but Senate Bill 398 was introduced in order to lift that ban. The bill was presented to the Illinois Senate in January of this year, and passed by that legislative body in April by a vote of 44 to 9. The bill then went on to the House, and lawmakers there passed the bill in May by a vote of 82 for and 31 against.

With the passing of the new law, bars will now be able to offer drink discounts up to four hours a day, for a total of 15 hours per week. Businesses will be required to advertise happy hours at least a week in advance of the event, and all discounts must end by 10 p.m. There are also other restrictions, such as not being allowed to offer any volume drink specials, no games which involve alcohol and alcohol cannot be given as prizes.

Due to an increased rate of drunk drivers on the road, the 4th of July is one of the deadliest holidays.

In 2012, Americans imbibed roughly 68 million cases of beer on Independence Day weekend. Not only is the Fourth stereotypically a weekend for afternoon parties, it is also a weekend in which many people go on vacation or a short road trip. These combined factors make the likelihood of getting into an accident with a drunk driver all the more likely. July 4th is the worst day of the year when it comes to fatal car accidents. Between 2007 and 2001, 40 percent of all highway fatalities were attributed to an alcohol-related crash that occurred on the 4th of July.

In order to mitigate the risk of drunk drivers, many states use sobriety checkpoints. Illinois is one of the 38 states in the U.S. that performs sobriety checkpoints on drivers, a practice that has different justifications for its legality depending on state rulings. Authority for such checkpoints in Illinois is found under federal law, given the state’s interpretation of the Constitution. There are only 12 states, then, that do not conduct them—Texas, for example, prohibits sobriety checkpoints based on its interpretation of the Constitution. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) estimates that the state of Illinois conducts several hundred of these checkpoints every year, and Independence Day weekend is surely one of them.