Today's drunk driving statistics are pretty shocking. Find out about some of them here and what you can do to help fix - or at least lower - them.

Some Drunk Driving Statistics

Somebody gets killed from drunk driving every 39 minutes. Somebody gets hurt from drunk driving every minute. 8 teenagers die in alcohol-related car accidents every day. Americans take 150 million alcohol-impaired trips on the road every year. Motorcycle drivers are at the highest risk of dying in drunken car accidents. Most people who die in car accidents that involve drunk driving are from ages 18 to 24. More than 50% of drunk drivers who were involved in fatal car accidents had blood alcohol concentrations of at least 0.15% (the legal limit currently stands at 0.08%). As depressing as it might be to hear this, these are just some of the statistics on drunk driving out there nowadays. There are many more, as well.

Is the Law Doing Anything about This?

Various laws that are currently in place attempt to deter drunk driving and prevent repeat offenders. Here are some of them:

• Hefty fines
• Mandatory jail time
• Automatic driver's license revocation
• Ignition interlock device installation

Aside from the aforementioned laws, law enforcement lawyers also do other things to lower today's drunk driving statistics. Naturally, it also helps that there are a lot of officers out there looking out for drivers who are on the road drunk. During high-risk times, sobriety checkpoints are also set up around the country and the public is generally warned about them, so as to deter them from driving drunk in the first place.

Is There Anything You Can Do?

As overwhelming as these drunk driving statistics might be, you need to know that you can help make a change in the world yourself. Just try doing some of the following:

• Do not turn into a statistic yourself.
• Do not drive after you have been drinking.
• Take time off to sober up before driving.
• Do not let your friends drive drunk.
• Call a cab if you have to.
• Have a designated driver in the group whenever you go drinking.
• Report drunk drivers to the police if you can.

Steer clear of cars that seem to be driving erratically. If you work with law enforcement officers, lawmakers and the private citizens from now on, you can actually help lower today's drunk driving statistics with ease - believe it.