Stay Sober NY | Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C.

Our Mission

The mission to prevent drunk driving accidents in New York is a personal one for Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. One of our partners Steven Benvenisti was nearly killed by a drunk driver while on Spring Break in college. He suffered a brain injury and crushed lower legs. This injury shaped the rest of his life and is what inspired him to become a personal injury attorney. Today, he helps to combat drunk driving through his work with MADD and his highly popular program, “The Most Significant Case of My Entire Career,” inspires us every day.

We believe that New York residents will be as motivated as we are if they understand the scope of the impaired driving problem in New York State. To raise greater awareness of this serious public safety issue, we have compiled five years of the most recent open-source data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration FARS database.

After reviewing the information on alcohol-related fatalities, we hope you are moved to sign our pledge below and make a personal decision to do all you can to prevent drunk driving accidents. We encourage you to share this resource as well. We can all do our part!

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Fatal Alcohol-Related Collisions Heat Map

Each red dot on the map below represents a preventable death that was caused by a drunk driver in New York.

Compiled data taken from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration FARS database from 2015-2019.

Data Source: NHTSA FARS Database / //www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx

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<span style="display:block; text-align:center; font-weight:bold; padding-bottom:10px; font-size:20px;">#StaySoberNY - Drunk Driving Accidents Heatmap (2011-2016)</span><div id="nydataproject-iframe"><iframe src="//www.dsslaw.com/staysoberny/heatmap/" width="100%" height="600px">Your browser doesn't support iframes. Please click <a href="//www.dsslaw.com/staysoberny/heatmap/" target="_blank">here</a> to view the map.</iframe><div style="font-size:10px; font-style:italic; padding:0; text-align:right;" class="data-source">Data Source: <a href="//www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx" target="_blank">NHTSA FARS Database / //www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx</a></div><span style="display:block; text-align:center"><a href="//www.dsslaw.com/staysoberny/" target="_blank">View The #StaySoberNY Open Data Drunk Driving Project on DSSLaw.com</a></span></div>

Data Source: NHTSA FARS Database / //www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx

Drinking vs Drug Use

Impaired driving can occur from driving after drinking alcohol, as well as taking illegal, prescription, or over-the-counter drugs. Impaired drinking has been shown to reduce judgment, impair vision, cause drowsiness, and increase risky behaviors. Statistics show that impaired drivers involved in fatal collisions are more likely to be impaired by alcohol than by drugs in New York. However, drugs can cause drowsiness and other side effects, so drivers should not drive after taking any of these dangerous substances.

Marijuana was recently legalized in New York. There have been fluctuations over the most recent five-year period with some year-to-year changes increasing by as much as one third, sometimes followed by a moderate decrease. Policymakers have expressed concern about the state’s increasing number of drugged driving deaths.

Comparison: Crashes by Age and Gender

Being able to identify who is at most risk for causing impaired driving collisions can help us to develop effective prevention strategies. According to data specific to New York, men are much more likely than women to be involved in fatal impaired driving collisions. Men made up nearly 85 percent of the 554 fatal impaired driving collisions tracked during the reporting period.

Men between the ages of 21 and 49 were most prone to be involved in these accidents, making up 331 or nearly 60 percent of all fatal accidents during the reporting period.

It should also be noted that 27 or nearly 5 percent of all fatal motor vehicle accidents involved young drivers ages 15 to 20. These individuals are not even old enough to drink, but they tragically lost their lives in impaired driving accidents.

Data Source: NHTSA FARS Database / //www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx

Comparison: Highest Crashes by Day of Week/Time of Day

Knowing the time of day and the day of week when impaired driving accidents are most likely to happen can help us avoid the tragedies others have faced. We take drunk driving seriously and want you to, as well.

Drunk driving accidents are most likely to occur in New York on weekends when most people are out of work. 61 percent of fatal alcohol-related crashes in New York occur over the weekend. The most dangerous times for fatal alcohol-related crashes were 2 a.m. on Saturdays and 4 a.m. on Sundays.

Here, we see that 62 percent of fatal alcohol-related crashes in New York occurred between Friday and Sunday. The most dangerous hour for alcohol-related fatal accidents was around 2 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Data Source: NHTSA FARS Database / //www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx

Comparison: Counties and Crash Numbers

While Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens have larger populations, they do not have the highest percentage of fatal alcohol-related collisions. Instead, Long Island’s Suffolk County had 87, or more than 15 percent of the period’s crashes. Neighboring Nassau County placed second with 38 alcohol related fatalities. Monroe, Kings, Erie, and Onondaga Counties all had 30 or more fatal alcohol-related crashes during the reporting period.

Data Source: NHTSA FARS Database / //www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx

Data Source: NHTSA: Fatality Analysis Reporting System

Resources

Sign the Pledge

We all play a role in preventing drunk driving accidents. Please sign our pledge and – most importantly – honor the pledge to never drink and drive.

Sign the Pledge

NY Open Data Project - #StaySoberNY

Our Mission

Fatal Alcohol-Related Collisions Heat Map

Drinking vs Drug Use

Comparison: Crashes by Age and Gender

Comparison: Highest Crashes by Day of Week/Time of Day

Comparison: Counties and Crash Numbers

Resources

Sign the Pledge