Sobriety Checkpoints: Rewards and Stories

Sobriety checkpoints can often be a hassle.  The last time I went through a checkpoint, there were four lanes of traffic that had to merge into two lanes…not to mention the long wait.  A 10 minute ride home had turned into a 45-minute ride home.  Yes, a big hassle it was.

But what if you were rewarded for being sober when you went through a checkpoint?  What if you were given a free turkey?

Ignition Interlock Devices Mandatory For Repeat DUI Offenders

In 2008 a poll conducted by AAA found that 80% of American supported the idea of requiring drunk driving offenders to have ignition interlock devices installed in their vehicles.  

An ignition interlock is a device that is installed in a vehicle.  If a DUI offender has to drive, he/she provides a breath sample by blowing into the device. The car will not start if the IID detects alcohol on the breath.

Cities With High Teen Auto Crashes

Were you aware that auto crashes are the number one killer of teenagers in America? According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), automobile crashes are more common among young drivers than any other age group. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, twenty-three percent of teenage drivers in fatal car wrecks had a blood-alcohol level (BAC) above the legal limit of .08.

Consider some of these statistics:

New DUI Law in Virginia

Here’s some interesting news from the state of Virginia…Today the Virginia General Assembly voted  to drop a legal requirement that prosecutors prove that breath machines in DUI cases have been tested and are accurate.  They also established a timetable for defendants to challenge scientific evidence.

Lawyers in Virginia now have to notify a defendant at least 28 days before trial that they intend to use a scientific analysis of alcohol, drugs, DNA, blood or other evidence. The defendant then has 14 days to object to prosecutors’ use of an analysis without a testifying witness.

DUI Arrests Rising For Women

The big news lately regarding drunk driving is that women in the U.S. are drinking more alcohol, and drunken-driving arrests among females are steadily rising.

This article over at the Examiner offers some staggering statistics such as women being accounted for 18.8 percent of all DUI arrests in 2007 – which is an increase from 13.5 percent nearly a decade earlier.

What’s interesting to note is that below the article is a comment by a reader (“RIDL_Prez”) who gives us a different perspective on the issue:

“Back when we were battling .08, one of the things we warned about was that .08 was going to unfairly target women and that more women would be getting DUI’s. Now it’s here and everybody’s worried, but no one seems to be putting it together with the lowered BAC level. No, they want to attribute it to women drinking more so that they can start a new campaign to try and get women in general to drink less. It’s just more prohibitionist garbage.”

Read more about this issue:  Women Drinking More, DUIs Up While Falling Among Men

Related Post: Are Young Women Safe Drivers?

If you are a women needing help with your DUI in San Diego, make sure to hire a professional attorney who specializes in DUI cases.

Photo Credit:  Russell James Smith