Spring Break serves up some of the highest risks for teen drunk driving car accidents in Hallandale Beach and elsewhere throughout the state. Fortunately, Florida law enforcement officers are ready to combat the problem and are fighting to stop teenagers before they consume alcohol and get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.
According to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, officials with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco made nearly 50 underage arrests in Fort Lauderdale, more than 10 in Fort Myers, more than 30 in Miami, more than 90 in Daytona Beach and nearly 1,700 in Panama City during last year’s initiative in March. Well, they’re at it again, all in an effort to help keep our roadways safer and possibly to save some lives.
Our Hallandale Beach drunk driving car accident lawyers understand that officials throughout the state are stepping up their enforcement efforts through this year’s Spring Break. Officials will also be targeting Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tallahassee and Pensacola. Don’t worry parents. We’ll see officers focusing their efforts in our area, too.
Experts predict that Broward County businesses can expect somewhere around 12,000 college-age tourists this Spring Break, which consists of an eight-week season that kicked off on the 24th of February, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Most parents think that their underage students won’t be able to get their hands on alcohol. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. According to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 40 percent of surveyed teens said that they had consumed some amount of alcohol within the last 30 days. Nearly a quarter of them admitted to binge drinking during the same time. Another 10 percent admitted to drinking and then driving and another 30 percent admitted to riding with a driver who had consumed alcohol. All of the individuals surveyed were in fact under the age of 21.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that there were nearly 100 drivers between the ages of 15- and 20-years-old who died in car accidents in which they had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .01 or higher, meaning that they were under the influence of alcohol when the accident happened. Thirty percent of these young drivers were legally drunk when the accident happened.
We recently discussed the dangers of distracted driving through Spring Break. Drinking and driving is just as important. Parents need to sit down with the young drivers in their lives before school is let out for the break. Make sure that you have rules set in your household, rules that push safe and responsible driving habits.
If you or your teen driver has been injured or killed in an alcohol-related car accident in Hallandale, Sunrise, Royal Palm Beach, Pompano Beach or in any of the surrounding areas, contact our personal injury attorneys of Freeman, Mallard, Sharp & Gonzalez, LLC for a confidential appointment to discuss your rights. Call 1-800-529-2368.
Additional Resources:
State agents to target underage drinking by Spring Breakers, by Linda Trischitta, Sun Sentinel
More Blog Entries:
Intoxicated Driver Kills 1, Injures 2 in Pompano Beach Car Accident near I-95 Off Ramp, Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog, February 21, 2012
Lawmakers Seek Tougher Penalties for Drunk Drivers in Sunrise, Nation, Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog, February 3, 2012