A recent study showing a dramatic increase in the number traffic fatalities involving drivers who smoke marijuana is sure to provide ammunition to those opposing a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana, which goes before Florida voters in November.
Our West Palm Beach accident attorneys are experienced in handling the often very difficult cases brought by those seeking compensation for injuries caused by drivers impaired by drugs and alcohol.
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Public health experts, safe driving advocates and insurance representatives in the UK have expressed their concern in a letter to the BMJ over young driver safety policies and called for “a frank and open public debate” on the issue.
According to The Information Daily, government officials promised back in January of last year that they would release information on young driver safety in the spring. Subsequently, the government admitted in December 2013 that officials were still “wrestling with issues” and would not be able to publish findings.
Our car accident lawyers in Coconut Creek know auto accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in the UK, just like they are here in the U.S. At all levels of blood-alcohol content (BAC), the risk of being in a car accident is greater for teens than for older drivers. The effects are a lot stronger for teens than for adults because teens are still growing and developing. Young people ages 15-24 represent less than 15 percent of the U.S. population. However, they account for roughly a third ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and close to 30 percent ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Every teen has a desire to be cool, to succeed and to fit in. It’s important that we remind our teens that alcohol isn’t an option for any of these ventures. Unfortunately, with school back in session, our teens can be subjected to peer pressure and to teenage trends.
With every birthday, our teens are flirting with adulthood and want to act like it. With later curfew and more lenient rules, they have more freedom, and more opportunity to make dangerous choices.
Officials with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are addressing the issue as autumn begins. MADD is urging parents and caregivers to step in and to talk with teenagers today about the risks and the dangers involved with underage drinking.
Our Stuart personal injury lawyers understand that parents are some of the most influential people in a teen’s life. It may not seem like you’re getting through, but you’d be surprised by how much your word and your concern means to them. Your talk and your involvement in a teen’s life can help them make safe and responsible decisions that might one day end up saving their life. Consider these tips on how to get the conversation started, provided to us by MADD:
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A 30-year-old from Royal Palm Beach was recently sent to the hospital after officers concluded that he was driving under the influence and caused an accident.
Reports indicate that the driver was heading the wrong back down Okeechobee Boulevard just before 11:00 p.m. when the accident happened. He slammed head-on into an oncoming vehicle. The intoxicated driver was taken to St. Mary’s Medical center in critical condition. Luckily, the other driver involves escaped with less serious injuries.
Our West Palm Beach accident lawyers understand that these kinds of accidents are completely preventable. There is never a legitimate reason to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol when there are so many other safe ways to get home. Not only are you running the risk of some jail time, but you’re also running the risk of injuring or killing yourself or someone else.
If you drink alcohol and drive you dramatically increase your chance of being in a crash. In addition, if you are pulled over and the officer asks you to take a blood, urine or breath test, you are required to comply. Florida has the “Implied Consent Law”. When you sign your driver’s license, you have agreed to take these tests upon request. Refusal to take any of these tests will result in an immediate suspension of your driver’s license for one year. If you refuse it a second time, you will face an 18 month suspension.
In 2010, there were close to 1,000 people who were convicted of drunk driving in Plam Beach. That’s 1,000 drivers who were irresponsible enough to put their own lives, and the lives of others, at risk. Miami Dade County was much worse off, seeing more than 2,220 drunk driving convictions in 2010.
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), there were close to 228,000 traffic accidents reported in the state of Florida in 2011. Of those accidents, there were close to 108,000 that were alcohol-related. In these accidents, there were nearly 850 fatal accidents, killing more than 900 people. In addition to these fatalities, there were another 8,260 injury accidents in which close to 12,000 people were injured.
As we said, there are ways around these dangers:
-If you have a close friend who is trying to get behind the wheel after drinking, try to use a soft, calm approach to convince them of another option. Suggest that he’s had too much to drink and it would be better to let someone else drive or to take a cab.
-Before heading out, choose a designated driver. Decide who’s going to be doing the driving, and make sure that person doesn’t drink any alcoholic beverages.
-If you suspect a person is driving drunk, stay clear of them and promptly call 911 to report the driver to law enforcement.
-If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation so you are sure to get home safely.
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We all know that it’s dangerous to drink and drive, but we’re still losing the lives of thousands of people because of these accidents every year. What gives?
According to newly-released statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were close to 10,000 people killed in alcohol-related car accidents in the U.S. in 2011. These kinds of accidents accounted for more than 30 percent of all fatal car accidents throughout the year.
Our Lake Worth injury lawyers understand that drivers between the ages of 21 and 24 were most likely to get into the accidents, followed by drivers ages 35 to 44. Men were more likely to get into these accidents, too. The proportion of drivers involved in fatal crashes with BAC levels of .08 or higher was 24 percent among males and 14 percent among females.
No matter who you are, or when you’re driving, getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol should never be an option.
You’re urged to be safe out there, especially while driving at night. As a matter of fact, the rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal accidents throughout 2011 was close to 5 times higher at night than during the daytime. You’re also urged to be safe out there during the weekend, as more than 30 percent of these accidents happened during this time.
In the state of Florida, there were close to 2,400 people killed in alcohol-related car accidents in 2011. According to the NHTSA, close to 900 of these fatalities involved at least one driver who was under the influence of alcohol at the time of collision. What’s even worse news is that more than 715 of these drivers were legally drunk, or reported a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.
It wasn’t like everyone was just running around drinking and driving for the first time either. Many of these accidents involved drivers who had already been busted. Drivers with a BAC level of .08 or higher in fatal accidents in 2011 were seven times more likely to have a prior conviction for driving while impaired than were drivers with no alcohol.
Broward County is pretty dangerous when it comes to these kinds of accidents, too. According to the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles, there were close to 1,000 drunk driving convictions handed out in 2010. We were ranked as one of the most dangerous counties in the state because of it.
We all have to remember that there is never a legitimate reason to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. There’s always a safe and sober ride there waiting — and it’s just a phone call away. After all, it beats the heck out of getting busted and doing jail time, or getting into an accident and hurting ourselves or another traveler.
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Drunk drivers caught a big break recently with a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that police must first go to the trouble of getting a warrant before they can draw blood from someone suspected of a DUI.
Our South Bay car accident attorneys are troubled by the ruling in this case, Missouri v. McNeely. Certainly, we understand that due process must be given to each defendant in order to uphold the principals of our criminal justice system. However, the presence of alcohol in a driver’s blood stream is a unique form of evidence that we feel should be given special consideration by the courts.
The reasoning is this:
Let’s say police want to search a person’s home for a weapon used in a crime. Officers can secure the perimeter until the warrant is obtained in order to ensure that no evidence is destroyed while the process of getting that judge’s signature is underway.
However, alcohol is different because it dissipates quickly from the body. The liver is in effect serving to destroy evidence by the minute. That means time is a critical element in these cases. Most DUIs occur at night, when agencies may only have one or two judges or magistrates on call to approve the request. That means it could take more time. The more time it takes, the less alcohol is going to be in a person’s system.
As the defendant had argued in this case, officers do have the option of conducting a breathalyzer test. Sure, but no one can force you to get a breathalyzer the way they can a blood test. In the a breathalyzer, the individual must be cooperative in breathing into the machine in order for the test to work. With a blood test, the person need not even be conscious.
There are penalties for those who refuse breathalyzer tests, but the person could still walk away without a DUI conviction after refusing one.
Not only is this kind of evidence important for the criminal prosecution of the defendant, it’s also important in the civil case. The time elapsed in getting a warrant for that blood test could mean the difference between a person’s results being over the 0.08 percent legal threshold for driving under the influence.
The one saving grace regarding the decision was the concession that if an officer was able to “reasonably conclude” that there is not sufficient time to seek and receive a warrant or if he applies for one but fails to receive a response before blood can be drawn, then the officer may proceed with a warrantless blood draw.
However, even that concession was sharply criticized by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who had agreed with the outcome, but said the vagueness was flawed. Specifically, he said a police officer reading the court’s opinion would have “no idea – no idea – what the Fourth Amendment requires of him…”
That means that in cases where officers use their best judgement to proceed in obtaining a blood draw without a warrant, that decision is going to be aggressively fought by defense lawyers in these cases – both in the criminal and civil courts – who will be seeking a suppression of evidence.
If you are victim of a drunk driving accident in South Bay, you will need an experienced injury lawyer on your side.
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In the state of Florida, and every other state in this country, the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for drivers is .08 percent. One local Ireland government, a government that “legalized” drunk driving, still has a lower allowable BAC for drivers. It’s a shame our government and our drivers just don’t seem to be getting it.
In this particular part of Ireland, drivers are now allowed to exceed the country’s legal BAC limit. The measure was passed by Danny Healy-Rae, a local politician that argued that getting to and from the bar was going to help residents to avoid mental illness. Sounds crazy, right? Well, those drivers who are allowed to get to and from the bar now have to abide by a .07 legal BAC instead of the initial .05 percent, according to International Business Times.
Our Deerfield Beach drunk driving accident lawyers understand that no one should drive after consuming alcohol — no matter how little or how much. How does a government decide how much is too much? The truth of the matter is that every sip of alcohol affects our abilities behind the wheel and increases our risks for an accident.
Blood alcohol levels directly correlate with how many drinks someone has had. BAC is also influenced by a person’s traits. For example, women process their drink differently than men, meaning that alcohol typically affects women more than men. Weight and ethnicity also play a roll in how someone takes alcohol. For example, some people of Asian descent are missing an enzyme that allows them to properly digest alcohol, and therefore have a lower tolerance.
For a number of years, there were states that kept the legal BAC for drivers between .10 and .15. That all started to change in the late 70s thanks to urgency from advocates like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other groups around the country. There was also assistance from scientific findings that proved drinking alcohol can cause a loss of certain — and much-needed – functions to operate a motor vehicle. Typically, a .08 BAC doesn’t mean that a person isn’t sloppy drink, but it probably means that their reaction abilities have been affected so drastically that they’re likely to get into an accident.
From .00 to .08, your risks for an accident increase gradually. Once you hit .08, your risks skyrocket and you’re highly likely to get into a motor vehicle accident. The risks just aren’t worth it.
You should never get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. As drunk driving car accidents continue to take the lives of more than 10,000 people every year, we have to remember that these fatalities are completely preventable. Be safe. Be responsible. Be sober.
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By medical standards, the driver had been so drunk he should have been on the verge of unconsciousness.
Our Fort Lauderdale injury lawyers understand the North Dade driver’s blood-alcohol content measured a startling 0.332 percent – four times the legal limit – when his pickup truck careened into a group of people waiting for the bus stop on Northwest 79th Street.
Two people were killed, including a 21-year-old man pronounced dead at the scene and a 55-year-old man who died a month later at the hospital, after being paralyzed from the neck down.
The driver then left the two for dead as he hurried away from the scene.
He might never have been found, had it not been for the swift actions of a county employee. The worker witnessed the carnage and trailed the drunk driver as he sped away and then nudged his vehicle off the road with his own so that police would be able to catch him.
For his reckless – and heartless – disregard for human life, he will serve 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to a number of charges, including DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident involving deaths. In accepting a plea deal, he may have spared the families the ordeal of a criminal trial, but probably only because the evidence against him was overwhelming.
Every day in this country, approximately 30 people are killed as a result of crashes involving at least one drunk driver. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control report that DUI wrecks account for about one-third of all traffic deaths in the country, about 10,300 annually.
The number of injuries are far greater. There were approximately 1.5 million drivers arrested for DUI in 2010. That sounds like a lot until you consider it’s only 1 percent of the 112 million U.S. adults who self-reported having driven drunk in the last year.
Like this man, those who are involved in fatal crashes are more likely to have a much higher blood-alcohol content.
To give you an idea of how intoxicated this man was, consider a recent study by researchers at Michigan State University. A person who is driving at the legal limit of 0.08 percent might have a lowered level of alertness, a slightly reduced capacity for judgment and reasoning and an elevated risk of poor decision making. At four times that amount, a person who has a blood alcohol level of 0.25 to 0.34 percent would have an increased threshold for pain, impaired consciousness, loss of motor functions, abolished reflexes, impairment of respiration and circulation, inability to walk or talk, and an inability to control bowel movements. Any higher than that, we are talking about someone who would be non-responsive and likely unconscious.
Driving drunk is not an “accident.” It is a choice. Those who make that choice should expect to be held accountable. Our Fort Lauderdale DUI accident attorneys can help.
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St. Patrick’s Day is a day when everyone gets to be Irish. Unfortunately, while drinking green beer can be a lot of fun for everyone, the good times end quickly when it comes to drunk driving.
Our Fort Lauderdale car accident attorneys know that St. Patrick’s day is a hard-partying day of the year when many people make the unfortunate choice to drive drunk. We urge you to follow the advice offered by NHTSA in its recent press release on celebrating responsibly over St. Patrick’s Day Weekend.
The Dangers of Drunk Driving on St. Patrick’s Day
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a press release on Friday March 15 urging drivers to be responsible over St. Patrick’s and warning drivers of the risk that drunk driving presents on this holiday weekend.
According to NHTSA:
In collecting their data on St. Patrick’s day drunk driving fatalities, NHTSA defined the holiday as beginning at 6:00 a.m. on March 16 and extended to 5:59 a.m. on March 18.
Staying Safe on St. Patrick’s Day
In addition to warning drivers about the dangers of drunk driving on St. Patrick’s day, NHTSA also provided some tips for motorists on how to avoid becoming an accident victim. NHTSA recommends:
NHTSA also had some advice for people throwing St. Patrick’s day parties. NHTSA recommended making sure that food and non-alcohol beverage offerings are available. Hosts are encouraged to stop serving alcohol several hours before the party ends and to switch to coffee and desert instead. Those throwing parties should also be sure to take the keys away from anyone who is drunk, and to arrange alternate transportation if necessary such as by having the telephone number of a cab company available.
By taking these steps, you and your friends and family should have a better chance of staying safe over the holiday. Every driver needs to remember, however, that drunk drivers don’t just hurt themselves. Completely innocent victims could become involved in a crash with a drunk driver. As such, drivers should be extra vigilant this weekend for signs of erratic driving or other indicators that someone intoxicated is behind the wheel.
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She calls herself a “party princess,” but after a recent accident on Miami Beach, she may want to reconsider.
The 20-year-old was involved in an accident on Collins Avenue where she reported a blood-alcohol concentration three times that of the legal limit, according to Mail Online.
In the recent accident, she allegedly hit a 49-year-old pedestrian, killing him, and just kept on going. A witness called 9-1-1 at roughly 6:00 a.m. and followed the young driver home. The witness described her to officers as being “really drunk.”
Our Miami-Dade drunk driving accident lawyers understand that drinking and driving is nothing to take lightly, especially when speaking of our younger drivers. These individuals may not be able to legally purchase alcohol, but that doesn’t mean that they are not at high risks for accidents involving alcohol. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey reports that close to 40 percent of high school students have consumed alcohol in the last 30 days. More than 20 percent of these individuals binge drank. Close to 10 percent got behind the wheel after consuming alcohol.
The young driver is now being charged with DUI manslaughter. Before officials got the feedback from the toxicology report, she was only charged with leaving the scene of a deadly accident.
One of the victim’s sons has decided to file a lawsuit against the young driver and against Nikki Beach (where the young lady worked and was at before the accident) for letting her drink so much and for allowing her to consume alcohol while being underage. The victim’s widow has also decided to file lawsuits.
You may have heard of the victim, too. Stefano Riccioletti was the executive chef at the exclusive Shore Club. He was on his way to work when the accident happened.
When officers got to her apartment shortly after the accident, they reported that her speech was slurred and that the Florida International University student smelled like alcohol.
Underage drinking not only increases the risks for an accident like this recent Miami-Date crash, but it can have a number of other long-term effects on our young ones:
-Problems in school.
-Legal problems.
-Unplanned and unprotected sexual activity.
-Increased risks for homicide or suicide.
-Abuse of other kinds of drugs.
-Severe memory problems.
-Death for over-drinking and alcohol poisoning,.
-Increased risks for other unintentional injuries like falls, burns and even drowning.
With the summer approaching, so are the risks for accidents for young drivers. We’ve got prom, graduation and summer break coming up. Summer serves as the most dangerous time of the year for these inexperienced drivers. Talk with them about the risks and the dangers of driving under the influence. Your talk could help to save a life.
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