DUI

All About Sobriety Checkpoints

February 15, 2021 by admin 2 Comments

Drivers that are out late at night or who take to the road early in the morning and on major holidays may encounter a roadblock, a police department initiative designed to check for as well as deter impaired driving. Legal in most states, such stops are usually carefully planned and conducted to ensure that impaired drivers are caught and that your rights are protected. Here’s what you need to know about sobriety checkpoints.

Sobriety Checkpoint Laws

Sobriety checkpoints are handled by the states, territories, and the District of Columbia, and are legal in all but 10 states — Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Those states that do not allow them may forbid them by state statute or point to state or federal Constitutions where no “unreasonable searches and seizures” are permitted. Some states are very aggressive in conducting impaired driving roadblocks, with California conducting more than 2,500 per year according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Most states conduct checkpoints at least weekly with other states such as Delaware increasing or decreasing the number of roadblocks based on the season.

Federal Involvement

In Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz, the US Supreme Court ruled in 1990 that sobriety checks are constitutional while at the same time forbidding law enforcement personnel from stopping drivers without reasonable cause. Following that ruling, many states aligned their own rules to follow the US Constitution as well as the state’s constitution.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) works with the states to crack down on impaired driving. Campaigns in operation as of 2021 included “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” The NHTSA has run advocacy commercials, including a tie-in with the Robocop movie, and issues press releases, and distributes other media collateral to raise awareness.

Federal Rules

To assist state compliance with the US Constitution in conducting roadblocks and sobriety checks, the NHTSA has also issued rules in keeping with Michigan v. Sitz. Its guidelines are for both full-scale and scaled-back sobriety checkpoints with the states responsible for keeping within its own requirements.

The NHTSA recommends that the sobriety checkpoint be led by a sworn, uniformed police officer tasked with planning the checkpoint, an individual very familiar with state rules and law, and able to oversee the staffing and management of the checkpoint. Further, obtaining local prosecutorial and judicial support is necessary to ensure that all legal procedures are followed and that each case is effectively adjudicated.

Local checkpoints should also comply with existing laws and departmental policy, and site plans may need to be submitted and received government approval before checkpoints are set up. Some type of chemical test must be conducted such as a breathalyzer as well as field sobriety tests including standing on one leg or a walk-and-turn test. The NHTSA also recommends that law enforcement work with the media to publicize and promote what they do.

State Enforcement

By following federal rules and guidelines, the states can ensure that their efforts are upheld constitutionally. One area where all states are in agreement in is with the amount of blood alcohol level or concentration (BAC) that is considered a crime, specifically 0.08 or higher.

Almost all states automatically revoke or suspend the license of a driver if he or she fails a chemical test. Most of these same states make an allowance for limited driving such as traveling back and forth to work. Ignition interlock laws are in place in all states, a device that automatically detects the presence of alcohol and disables the ignition.

States are required to adopt open container and repeat offender laws or risk losing a portion of the state’s surface transportation funding that is provided to the State Highway Safety Office or DOT.

Your Rights

If you are arrested for impaired driving you must do your part to protect your rights.

First, never refuse to take a breathalyzer test — in many states your license will be automatically revoked and you will be fined.

Second, do not speak to the police and do not give a written statement.

Third, ask to have your attorney present and contact the same.

Fourth, document your own evidence. You may have only a few days after your arrest to challenge the administrative suspension of your license. A criminal attorney experienced in handling DUI/DWI cases can file a motion on your behalf.

Driving while impaired is a serious offense that can put lives at risk. Yet, your rights are constitutionally protected both during and after a sobriety checkpoint stop, and you have the right to consult with an attorney.

See Also — How to Fight Back Against Drunk Drivers

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

How to Fight Back Against Drunk Drivers

June 2, 2019 by admin 5 Comments

Drunk driving is a serious offense, taking more than 10,000 lives annually in the United States alone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Tougher laws have hardly stemmed the tide against driving under the influence (DUI), which demonstrates how pernicious the problem is. If you’re involved in an accident with a drunk driver and have survived, there may be a legal remedy that goes beyond collecting compensation from an insurance company. We’ll examine what you can do to fight back against the scourge of drunk driving, especially when it becomes personal.

Following a crash, accident victims should seek medical help immediately.
You’ll also want to contact an attorney to ensure your rights as a DUI accident victim are protected.

Post-Accident Care and Compensation

1. Take care of yourself first. Surviving a car accident goes beyond luck and happenstance. The care you receive post-crash is of utmost importance and may determine how your injuries affect you for the rest of your life. Work with your medical team to find the best care possible for your condition. Follow the doctor’s instructions and continue treatment until you’re told to stop. Not before.

2. Seek legal assistance early. While seeking medical relief, you must reach out to an attorney to review your case. There are DUI accident lawyers whose job is to protect the rights of accident victims. These professionals are adept in handling drunk driving matters and will build a case to take on the drunk driver or this individual’s estate. Your loss may go beyond your personal injury — other passengers may have been injured or killed. A qualified attorney will explain your options and how the litigation process works.

3. Cooperate with your attorney. Once you hire an attorney, you’ll need to work closely with this professional to ensure that your rights are protected. You can expect your legal team to thoroughly investigate your case, including reviewing the accident report and medical records, interviewing witnesses, and possibly hiring other professionals to aid your case, if needed. The attorney’s goal here is two-fold: 1), to hold those responsible for the accident accountable, and 2), to ensure you receive adequate compensation.

4. Review your case. Before your case heads to court or a settlement is made, review your medical records. It is important to understand the extent of your injuries, the long-term impact such injuries will have on your life and the way you live, and possible problems that may emerge down the line. The same steps should cover everyone else who was hurt. In effect, you must determine that your medical information is accurate, including when pre-existing conditions exist.

5. Understand the settlement. Most personal injury cases never go to trial as insurance companies offer a settlement outside of court. If you do go to trial, a settlement offer may be made before the case concludes. Regardless of when a settlement is offered, your attorney will explain the details and make a recommendation. If you don’t understand something or think the offer isn’t strong enough, let your attorney know. You should also understand whether your legal costs are taken from the settlement (thereby reducing your compensation), or if they’re paid by the defendant (or his insurer) separately. Millions of dollars may be involved here, thus it is important to understand what you’re receiving.

The Attorney’s Goal: Make One Whole

Most any car accident, including one involving a drunk driver, can leave you damaged — physically, emotionally, and financially. Your attorney will seek redress, with an eye to “make one whole.” This statement means your attorney will seek to restore you as close to the position you were in before the accident.

Public domain photo acquired from Wikipedia.

DUI and Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)

February 12, 2014 by Hannah Edelman 1 Comment

On the way: lower BAC limits.

There is a movement afoot where the states are being urged by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to lower the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit from 0.08 to 0.05. That new, lower limit would align the US with more than 100 countries that have a BAC limit of 0.05 or lower.

BAC -- Car Crash

The initiative announced in May 2013 has not garnered widespread support even from anti-drunk driving advocates including some who believe that the lower threshold would be harder to enforce and a waste of resources. One state, Colorado, has already adopted the 0.05 BAC limit, but adoption by other states doesn’t seem likely.

Blood Alcohol Concentration

BAC is determined by measuring the weight of alcohol in a certain volume of blood. Alcohol is quickly absorbed and its effect can be measured within 30 to 70 minutes after a person has had a drink according to the NHTSA. Alcohol enters the bloodstream and travels throughout the body before it reaches the brain.

A persons BAC is affected by several factors including the number of drinks consumed, how fast they were consumed, body weight, gender, and whether food is in the stomach or not. There is a greater concentration of alcohol in distilled spirits than in wine or in beer. Women are more likely to retain alcohol because their body composition includes more body fat and less water than men. And the heavier you are the more likely you’ll handle your alcohol consumption better as there is more water present in your body.

See Also — All About Sobriety Checkpoints

Typical Effects From Consuming Alcohol

drunk driver Researchers have discovered symptoms or effects of drinking that occur at various levels of BAC. These effects can negatively impact driving ability even with a small amount of alcohol consumed.

At 0.02 BAC, the body relaxes, some loss of judgment is noted, and the mood may be altered. Researchers note that drivers may experience a decline in both visual functions and the ability to perform two tasks at the same time.

When a 0.05 BAC is reached, exaggerated behavior, lowered alertness, and the loss of small-muscle control (eye focus) have been observed. For drivers, that may mean reduced coordination, difficulty steering, and reduced response time. This is the level where Colorado goes after impaired drivers.

At 0.08 BAC muscle coordination becomes poor, danger is harder to detect, and reasoning, self-control, and judgment are impaired. Behind the wheel the driver may experience short-term memory loss, have difficulty concentrating, experience impaired perception, and have more difficulty processing information. It is at 0.08 where 49 states and the District of Columbia currently draw the line.

In the late 1990s, states began to switch from 0.10 BAC to 0.08 BAC as the legal limit for impaired driving. In 2000, Congress adopted 0.08 as the national standard. At a 0.10 BAC, reaction time and control deteriorates, marked by poor coordination, slow thinking, and slurred speech. For drivers, a predictable effect includes a reduced ability to maintain lane position and proper braking.

Notably, the first BAC level recommended by the American Medical Association in the late 1930s was 0.15. At that level balance and muscle control are compromised, and the driver is substantially impaired and unable to control the vehicle. By the 1960s, states began to adopt the 0.10 limit that stayed in place through the end of the last century.

distracted driving

Pro and Con: 0.05 BAC

The NTSBs push to a 0.05 BAC would capture just 8 percent of all drivers caught in a fatal crash. Drunk driving deaths have fallen from more than 20,000 people annually to about 10,000, a number that is far too high, but reflective of what tighter laws and prosecution have accomplished. If 0.05 BAC was universally adopted, the NTSB estimates that an additional 1,000 lives could be saved annually.

But not everyone thinks that a move to 0.05 BAC is a good thing including Candace Lightner, founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Lightner whose own daughter was killed by a drunk driver told US News that she doesn’t believe that this is a practical, long-term solution. Instead, she contends that many more deaths can be prevented by going after distracted drivers, drugged drivers, and high-BAC drunk driving. That is something that can be done by vigorously enforcing current laws and installing interlock devices in cars to stop convicted drunken drivers from getting behind the wheel a second time while intoxicated.

NHTSA: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

December 26, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

NHTSA: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

Alcohol and driving do not mix. And that is the message that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) aims to repeat through its annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” holiday season clampdown on drunk and drugged driving now taking place.

Drive Sober Campaign

Last week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland were joined with representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), law enforcement officials, and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) to launch this year’s campaign. Also, the NHTSA released a “Model Guideline for State Ignition Interlock Programs,” what has been designed to assist states establish and put into action a breath alcohol ignition interlock program. That program is derived from what the NHTSA says are “highly successful practices from the U.S. and around the world.”

“With the help of our law enforcement partners, we’re sending a message across the country, today and throughout the holiday season – Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,” said Secretary Foxx. “And this year, with the release of our model guidelines for ignition interlock programs, we’re helping states improve their efforts to enforce safe driving among convicted offenders, which is crucial to ending these unnecessary deaths.”

See Also — How to Fight Back Against Drunk Drivers

Holiday Season Crash Deaths

Drive Sober, Do Not Drive Drunk In 2012, crash deaths attributed to drunk drivers increased by 4.6 percent, accounting for 10,322 lives lost compared to 9,865 deaths in 2011. Most of those crashes involved drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .15 or higher or nearly double the legal (0.08) limit. During the 2012 holiday season, 830 lives were lost in drunk driving crashes.

The NHTSA has spearheaded research of convicted drunk drivers, showing that those with interlocks installed are 75 percent less likely to repeat the behavior compared to those who do not. The guideline emphasizes a number of significant program features to increase effectiveness, such as legislation, education, program administration, and implementation.

“It is unacceptable and downright offensive that anyone would get behind the wheel drunk, let alone at twice the legal limit,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “I urge the states to adopt our new guidelines to protect sober motorists and ensure that individuals convicted of drunk driving learn from their mistakes.”

NHTSA data also shows that over the past decade, 41 percent of traffic deaths that occur around the New Year’s holiday and 37 percent of the road deaths around the Christmas holiday were alcohol-impaired, compared to 31 percent nationally over the past 10 years.

Public Service Announcement

The clampdown will continue through Jan. 1, 2014, and is augmented by a $7.5 million national advertising campaign with radio and television spots. The ads are designed to raise awareness as well as to support local law enforcement campaigns nationwide. NHTSA’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over message will also be featured in a new public service announcement featuring Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures’ RoboCop, in theaters February 12, 2014.

drunk driving, drive sober