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?

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

Drunk Driving Accidents: Turning Negative Into Positive

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.

Stories That Make You Lose Faith in the Justice System

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.

I echo these thoughts shared over at the Minnesota DWI Defense blog:

“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.