Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog
The U.S. Senate recently passed “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” (MAP-21) to help make our roadways a little bit safer for everyone. MAP-21 includes the ROADS SAFE Act and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) couldn’t be happier about it. The organization recently released an announcement expressing its gratitude with the Senate for the funds that will now be used to help develop certain in-vehicle advanced technologies aimed at preventing drunk driving accidents.
MADD is excited because the in-car technologies can help to detect drunk drivers before they get behind the wheel and increase the risks for fatal accidents in Fellsmere and elsewhere.
Through MAP-21, a total of nearly $15 million will be offered to researchers over the span of 2 years to help them to develop the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) system. Federal transportation officials are hoping that the completion of these projects will help to save tens of thousands of lives every year. Both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety will be working on advancing this technology.
Our Fellsmere drunk driving car accident lawyers understand that there were nearly 11,000 people who were killed in the United States in 2009 because of alcohol-related auto accidents. That is nearly 11,000 people who didn’t have to die, considering these kinds of accidents are completely preventable. Still, alcohol continues to be a contributor in one out of every three traffic-related fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In addition to the ones who were killed in these alcohol-related traffic accidents, nearly 1.5 million were also busted by law enforcement officials for driving drunk in 2009. To make matters even worse, more than 1,300 of the fatalities that our country witnessed in these kinds of accidents were children under the age of 14.
“The safety provisions included in MAP-21 could truly set in motion the elimination of drunk driving and save tens of thousands of lives each year,” said MADD’s National President Jan Withers.
Included in the MAP-21 program are updates to our country’s highway safety programs, including an incentive program that will be used to urge states to adopt tougher ignition interlock sentences for all drunk driving offenders. In states that already have these kinds of laws, drunk driving-related fatalities have decreased by more than 50 percent, proving that passing these kinds of laws is an effective way to reduce the risks.
Lastly, the new program will help to fund the high-visibility crackdown efforts of Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over and Click it or Ticket and Drive Sober, both programs that have been proven effective in helping to prevent alcohol-related traffic accidents.
If you or someone you love has been hurt in an alcohol-related car accident in Fellsmere, Pompano Beach or in any of the surrounding areas, contact the South Florida personal injury lawyers of Freeman, Mallard, Sharp & Gonzalez, LLC for a confidential appointment to discuss your case. Call 1-800-561-7777.
More Blog Entries:
Drunk Driving Car Accidents in Hallandale More Likely through Spring Break, Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog, March 9, 2012
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