According to the American Automobile Association, while men remain to be the most frequent drunken drivers, there is an increasing number of young women who are being arrested for drunk driving.
Stephen Bloch, a researcher from AAA, says that DUI cases for women between the ages of 21 to 24 have doubled in the last 10 years. In San Diego County, the fatal incidents involving women with ages 18-24 increased by 124%, from 49 accidents to 110.
Bloch said that this unlikely increase may have been caused by the growing number of young female celebrities being arrested because of DUI. In 2007, Lindsay Lohan was arrested after running her vehicle up a curb. The actress failed the sobriety tests and was sentenced to 10 days of community service. Other high profile DUI arrests involve Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton.
Block noted that men’s involvement with drunken driving is not increasing while women’s statistics has risen significantly. He believes that among the factors that have affected this number are the number for women taking the wheel and logging more miles.
Block also blames the intense marketing of alcohol to females in the rise of drunken women-related accidents. He said that alcoholic beverages have become more appealing to the female demographic with the introduction of sweeter drinks.
CHP Police Officer Pedefferi does not hate the man who hit him. In fact, this is what he said to the court on the day of the sentencing: “I harbor no ill-will or sense of vengeance towards Jeremy.”
These are the words of an officer who suffered dislocated bones, a crushed chest, collapsed lungs, and sits paralyzed in a wheelchair after being hit by Jeremy White. Jeremy’s pickup truck plowed into a small sport utility vehicle, which was stopped on the right shoulder of northbound Highway 101 near Faria Beach. Officer Pedeferri had pulled over the driver for a traffic violation. He was talking to the driver through the passenger window when White’s truck slammed into the SUV, killing the driver and critically injuring Officer Pedeferri, a motorcycle officer and accomplished triathlete. Jeremy White was supposedly on the drug ecstasy and a high concentration of marijuana at the time of the accident.
It’s unfortunate that auto accidents like this happen and they do happen quite often. So, what can we do to prevent this from happening in the future? Situations like this can cause people to harbor ill-will and perhaps push them to seek vengeance, but could it be more beneficial to take this and turn it into something positive? There are many victims and their families who have been inspired to spread the message that driving under the influence is dangerous. There are people like Kathy Padilla who was able to get “Angie’s Law” passed. Angie’s Law came about when Kathy Padilla’s daughter, Angelina, was killed by a drunk driver.
Officer Pedeferri and his family are not full of hate towards Jeremy, and that is a lesson in itself. Jeremy has to live with this accident for the rest of his life. He made his choices and now has to live with the consequences of those choices. He should have known better than to get behind the wheel while under the influence. However, it is nice to know that Jeremy White is remorseful and has accepted full responsibility. Hopefully, though, people will read this and take it as a sign to be more mindful about their actions – especially people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol.
We understand what it’s like to go through this type of situation. If you are a car accident victim or have been arrested for a DUI in San Diego, it’s important to have an experienced attorney to help you with your case.
It’s that time of year again! Holiday parties and the New Year are here and that means alcohol and drinking (for many people anyways). The St. Lawrence County (New York) Stop DWI and Traffic Safety Program has shared some tips to make this holiday season safe if you’re hosting a party:
Control access to alcohol you serve. Avoid kegs or punch bowls.
Provide food for guests.
Stop serving alcohol at least one hour before the party ends.
Plan ahead to provide alternate transportation for your guests if they’ve had too much to drink.
If you are a guest at someone’s holiday party, I also recommend having the phone number for a taxi cab company handy if you don’t have a designated driver. Also, do keep in mind that there are programs here in San Diego like Safe Ride Solutions that can help you get home safely.
Of course, the best way to prevent drunk driving this holiday season is not to drink at all! However, if by chance you are arrested for a DUI in San Diego, contact an experienced drunk driving defense lawyer to help you with your case.
The U.S. isn’t the only country that has a problem with drunk driving. Many countries across the world have the same problems – including Canada. This video news clip talks about the drunk driving dilemma in the Toronto area and how to prevent drunk driving…
It’s interesting to note that drunk driving incidents have increased in Canada and it seems like repeat offenders are at the heart of this issue – which is the same for the U.S. So, is the justice system not dealing well with repeat DUI offenders?
There were a couple topics raised in this video that I’d like to address:
1. I agree that a vehicle is just as dangerous a weapon as a gun or knife. I wonder how many more deaths it will take before the justice system really pays attention. I’ve said before that DUI penalties need to be harsher.
2. I also agree that every new vehicle that is built should have the ignition interlock system. That would help tremendously in preventing people from operating a vehicle. However, even if all new vehicles had these devices, there are still millions of older cars out there without them! However, it could definitely be the wave of the future. Imagine 30 years from now every car with the ignition interlock system! Could drunk driving be wiped out then?
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In some places like New York City, repeat DUI offenders are required to wear ankle bracelets that signal to an officer if the offender has had a drink. On the surface, this method of preventing drunk driving seems like a good idea, but many people feel that it is unconstitutional.
These ankle bracelets, otherwise known as SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring), are devices that detect alcohol in a person‘s perspiration. The device sends information via a modem to a central computer. At any given moment, a probation officer can log into the computer and check to see if the person wearing the SCRAM bracelet has been drinking. The officer can find out the exact time of day the offender started drinking, their blood alcohol level, and when their body has expelled all the alcohol.
Although the SCRAM device is a step in the right direction in terms of finding ways to keep drunk drivers off the road, we have to keep in mind that a device like this doesn’t come without issues.
Is it safe to rely on technology to determine a person’s innocence or guilt? There have been many issues with the breathalyzer device – who’s to say that the SCRAM is any different? These devices will cost money to maintain – will the government commit to making sure these machines will actually work 100% of the time? What if there was a glitch in the system?
You won’t have to worry about going through this if you commit to making a change after being charged once for a DUI. Get help from a San Diego DUI lawyer now…
When we look at alcohol-related statistics, specifically alcohol-related fatalities, we assume that these numbers mean that a drunk driver was involved. However, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
“A motor vehicle crash is considered to be alcohol-related if at least one driver or non-occupant (such as a pedestrian or pedalcyclist) involved in the crash is determined to have had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .01 gram per deciliter (g/dL) or higher. Thus, any fatality that occurs in an alcohol-related crash is considered an alcohol-related fatality. The term ‘alcohol-related’ does not indicate that a crash or fatality was caused by the presence of alcohol.”
So when we see these drunk driving statistics, we don’t even really know the “true” numbers. If a sober driver hits a drunk pedestrian, it is considered an alcohol-related death. Likewise, if a sober driver hits another sober driver who has a passenger that is drunk, that’s also consider an alcohol-related incident.
All of these incidents create highly inflated DUI fatality statistics. Isn’t it time to redefine what “DUI fatality” actually means? Or are these over-inflated numbers a way for the government to keep taking our constitutional rights?
Right now in the Houston area there are thousands of DWI cases that are in jeopardy because of the dishonesty of an inspector of alcohol breath test machines. According to this article over at Chron.com, the inspector didn’t conduct the inspections that she said she did.
Officials in Houston say that the woman who was contracted through the department had been falsifying records for at least a year. There are at least 2,600 DUI charges that could be affected.
“How can you trust the people and machines that were made and trained to prove your innocence? Imagine … your life is now in shambles, because a faulty computer says so.”
And people wonder why DUI lawyers are so adamant about investigating and defending their cases. What if it was you who had just one drink and your alcohol level was well below the legal limit – yet here’s the officer arresting you for a DUI because of a defective breath test machine? Imagine having that on your criminal record, yet you know for a fact that you’re innocent!
If this is going on in Texas, who knows where else this type of unscrupulous activity is going on. It’s stories like these that make you lose faith in the justice system.
This Union Tribune article says that DUI checkpoints will increase in Escondido, an area in North County. The Escondido police department plan to have 12 DUI checkpoints as opposed to 9 which have been set up in the past couple years. According to traffic Sgt. Dana Ray, the department has made 69 DUI arrests in the past two years. I don’t know about you, but 69 arrests doesn’t seem like much considering that there were probably so many more people out there who did drink and drive but didn’t get caught.
I often wonder if sobriety checkpoints are truly effective. The Fourth Amendment comes to mind which is the amendment that guards against unreasonable searches and seizures. Some would say that checkpoints are not unreasonable considering that they help protect the roads and highways while others feel that checkpoints violate our privacy.
Looking at the Fourth Amendment from another perspective…What if the police came knocking at your door every weekend wanting to search your home to make sure you weren’t harboring criminals? Wouldn’t you feel violated? Wouldn’t you want a search warrant? What makes searching cars any different?
I believe that education is the key to prevent drunk driving, in addition to offering more help and counseling for repeat drunk drivers.
Finally, justice is served. John Joseph Taskey will be sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison on Nov. 12. Taskey was on parole for a DUI conviction when he drove drunk and caused a freeway crash that killed a 75-year-old grandmother and injured a child back in September 2007 here in San Diego. He pleaded guilty to murder to second-degree murder this week.
Yes, these seemingly senseless things happen and I’m sure they happen for a reason, but at the same time I know that this could have been prevented. I’ve written before about the different ways that we could prevent drunk driving, but an idea has come to me that I’d like to share. Tell me what you think…
What if drunk drivers had to watch so many hours of video showing people who were involved in San Diego DUI accidents? What if that was part of their DUI program? Let’s say every time they went to their rehabilitation or DUI class, convicted drunk drivers had to watch at least an hour-long video with images of people who had died from a drunk driver. Wouldn’t that make some kind of impact? I think so.
Field sobriety tests are used by law enforcement to determine whether or not a driver is intoxicated. These series of tests include several exercises to test balance, coordination, and divided attention. Studies funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have shown that only three of the field sobriety tests are effective in detecting a drunk driver:
1. The Walk and Turn Test: This is also known as the heel-to-toe test in which the suspected drunk driver has to walk nine steps heel-to-toe in a straight line, turn around, and walk nine steps back. The police officer must observe the DUI suspect from three or four feet away and remain motionless while the suspect performs the test. If the police officer is too close to the driver, or is causing excessive motion, the police officer’s actions may cause the DUI suspect to make errors they may not have otherwise committed.
2. The One Leg Stand Test: The suspected drunk driver must stand on one leg with his hands down at his sides and count to 30. This type of sobriety test must be performed on a hard, dry, non-slippery surface and should not be given to drivers who are more than sixty-five years of age, more than fifty pounds overweight, or those individual who have physical impairments that interfere with balance and coordination.
3. The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test: This is a test where the officer holds a pen or similar object in front of the subject’s eyes to determine whether she can follow it.
In 1981 the NHTSA also created a standardized model for field sobriety testing and recommends that all law enforcement agencies use this standardized program – otherwise they can open up an area for a DUI lawyer to find fault in the system.
are effective in detecting a drunk driver:
