Chicago DUI lawyer comments on the Cook County DUI fatalities' study

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here about NHTSA studies on DUI's. Now comes news of a similar study outlining DUI fatalities in Cook County.

February 28, Chicago, IL

A new analysis of road fatalities in Cook County finds a third of traffic deaths linked to drinking and driving.

In all of Cook County, there were nearly 6,000 traffic fatalities between 1994 and 2008, according to an analysis done by the Scripps Howard News Service.

The collar counties showed a similar link between drinking and road deaths.

Analyzing data from across the nation, Scripps Howard listed Cook County's portion of Interstate 94 as the 11th most dangerous road in the nation, with 301 fatalities between 1994 and 2008.

"People still don't understand that drunk driving is a violent crime," said Susan McKeigue, state executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving-Illinois. "They think Uncle Ted getting snookered on Christmas Eve and driving away is funny."

I don't know anyone that thinks it's a good idea for Uncle Ted to be "snookered" and driving on Christmas Eve, unless they are the beneficiaries of his estate.

What's fascinating is what isn't noted in this study. So guess what the number one cause of auto fatalities is in Cook County? Do you know?

Here's the study that the article cites:

Cook, IL

Traffic Deaths from 1994 to 2008

Fatal Accidents 5503
Total Deaths 5960
Drinking 32.5%
Speeding 34.6%
No Seat Belts 64.3%

So while it's true, that one third of fatal accidents involve drunk driving, drinking( which isn't illegal) more fatalities involve speeding, and two-thirds of all fatalities stem from a failure to wear seat belts. It just goes to show you that you have to be willing to go to the source to find out what the news story should be.