Articles Posted in Drunk Driving in Massachusetts

The statistics are in, and women are being involved in more and more drunk driving car accidents and arrests. According to The Century Council, the problem of drunk driving has predominantly been viewed as a man’s issue, but the tables are turning.

Female drunk driving has become a growing concern since the late ’80s. Just 20 years ago, women accounted for less than 10 percent of the nation’s drunk driving arrests. Since then, the proportion has increased dramatically, up about 30 percent from 1997 to 2007. Officials are looking deep into the problem to try and find solutions and to help better prioritize female drunk drivers in the context of the overall drunk driving problem.

Our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers understand that, generally speaking, women are less likely to drink than men. On the other hand, self-report data indicated that female drinking and driving behavior is mixed. There have been a number of explanations provided for the increase in female drunk driving arrests. Some say that it’s because of a declining trend in male arrests — making the female arrests more noticeable. Others say that it’s because of the changes in legal policy and enforcement practices — that there’s now a greater likelihood that law enforcement will detect and arrest female drunk drivers. Some have even said that it’s because women are more likely to be affected by alcohol, even at lower blood-alcohol concetrations (BAC) and because of the physiological differences. Many studies indicate that women have less alcohol metabolizing enzyme in their stomachs, as well as having smaller volumes of distribution.
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Sometimes there’s just no stopping drunk drivers — or so it seems. According to the Patriot Ledger, a 51-year-old man from New Bedford was arrested on his fourth drunk driving charge and for driving with a revoked driver’s license after he nearly slammed into the Back River Bridge in Weymouth.

The man was also charged with a marked lanes violation, refusing to identify himself, driving with an open container of alcohol and driving to endanger. It all happened shortly after 3:00 a.m. on Lincoln Street. When officers stopped the intoxicated driver, they reported that they could not understand him as his speech was “so extremely slurred.” While attempting to complete field sobriety tests, the driver allegedly almost fell down and was put under arrest when he “passed out lying across the cruiser’s rear seat.”

Our New Bedford drunk driving accident lawyers understand that this incident falls under the state’s Melanie’s Law, which means that anyone who is convicted of drunk driving in the state with a driver’s license that has already been revoked because of a drunk driving charge is required to serve a minimum mandatory jail sentence of one year. This law is in place to help to prevent repeat offenses. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), about one-third of the drunk driving problem – arrests, crashes, deaths, and injuries – come from repeat offenders.
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Our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers know that it is extremely important to get drunk drivers off the road before they cause an accident or hurt themselves or others. Of course, the needs of the public to stop drunk drivers must be balanced against constitutional protections, including the right to be free from unlawful search and seizure.

Unfortunately, according to NECN.com, a decades-old law has created a loophole allowing for drunk drivers to get away with driving while impaired. The loophole has been described by police in Massachusetts as hamstringing law enforcement efforts aimed at “stopping the highway carnage caused by drunk drivers.” Safety advocates and law enforcement officials argue that the loophole needs to be changed to make the roads safer.
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In Massachusetts, Melanie’s Law requires those convicted of a second drunk driving offense to have an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicles. These repeat drunken driving offenders must keep the ignition interlock device installed for two years if they want their license reinstated.

Our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers know that ignition interlock devices help to prevent many accidents by preventing intoxicated motorists from getting behind the wheel. Now, advocates are urging Boston lawmakers to extend the ignition interlock requirement to any motorist who is convicted of drunk driving, even for a first offense.
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Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a top cause of teen auto accidents, and unfortunately more teens than ever before may be getting behind the wheel when they are high. Studies show that even as the rates of teen drunk driving have declined in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of high school seniors who drive after smoking pot or who get into the car with someone who is high.

Our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers know that Massachusetts legalized medical-marijuana last year and that lawmakers both at the federal level and across the United States have been moving towards relaxing penalties or even decriminalizing marijuana use altogether. As the political climate changes regarding the use of marijuana, however, it is important to remember that driving high or getting in the car with someone who is high is both illegal and could be extremely dangerous.
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Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) began partnering with the National Football League (NFL) back in 2010 to help to curb drunk driving. Through game day initiatives, player and employee programs and awareness and community relations programs, officials are practicing efforts to combat this problem. But there is still more that needs to be done.

Each and every year, officials with the NFL and with MADD remind fans to play the most important position of the season — the designated driver. With this, they’re working to promote designated drivers through MADD-branded booths at games and sports facilities to remind fans about the importance of safe drinking habits.

Our Quincy drunk driving accident attorneys understand that officials with MADD and the NFL have been able to prevent more than 4,500 fatalities each year cause by teen alcohol use. Officials ask teen’s to check out MADD’s Power of You(th)® Facebook page and take the pledge to not drink before age 21 and also to never ride in a car with someone who has been drinking.
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Labor Day enforcement is coming a bit early this year, and it’s all thanks to a Massachusetts grant. According to the Boston Globe, officers stepped up their enforcement efforts back on the 16th and will be going full force through the Labor Day weekend. It was all made possible by a grant from the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

Our Massachusetts drunk driving accident lawyers understand that these funds aim to help get more officers on the road — and on the lookout for drunk drivers. These enforcement efforts will be focusing on very specific times of the week, including nighttime hours and weekends as that’s when we see the most drunk drivers and accidents.

Officers in Hingham had a similar enforcement effort going on last Christmas, Thanksgiving and Super Bowl Sunday. It’s common for officers around the country to step up their enforcement efforts around holiday periods as that’s when we see and alarming increase in these kinds of accidents.
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When we talk about drunk driving, you probably think of driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated. But the truth of the matter is that there are many other forms of drunk driving, like drunk biking, drunk walking or even drunk golf carting.

According to ABC40, police in Maine report that the golf cart accident causes some serious injuries — so serious that a LifeFlight helicopter was summoned. In this accident, a 52-year-old golf cart driver was thrown from the cart that was being driven by a Massachusetts man. The driver of the golf cart was arrested for drunken driving.

Our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers understand that alcohol’s effects on your body can significantly increase your risks of an accident, regardless of what you’re doing. Difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory: Clearly, alcohol affects the brain. Alcohol affects brain chemistry by altering levels of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit the signals throughout the body that control thought processes, behavior and emotion. And most importantly, alcohol increases your risks for an accident, no matter how you’re traveling.
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Lowering the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers could be the key in the fight to save lives. But the proposal is getting some mixed reactions from lawmakers in Massachusetts.

According to Wicked Local, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently recommended dropping the legal blood-alcohol level for drivers from .08 to .05. This was done in a broader effort to try to put an end to drunk driving. Each year, the number of highway fatalities involving intoxicated drivers has remained stubbornly steady since the 90s.

“Is it going to be a cultural shift? Yes, but we’re talking about saving lives,” said Rick Smith, Wakefield Police Chief.

Our Quincy drunk driving accident lawyers understand that this is a trend that’s already taken place overseas — like in Ireland — and the accidents resulting from drunk driving have dropped significantly.

Bob Dietz, a Malden Police Lt., says that earmarking the funds generated from drunk driving and its penalties would be a start in helping to increase the enforcement of drunk driving laws. As it stands now, law enforcement has little to work with when combating these crimes.

Massachusetts first adopted the .08 blood-alcohol limit back in 2003. That’s a limit that’s now used by all states for all drivers 21 and over. Unfortunately, these kinds of accidents continue to take the lives of thousands each and every year. As a matter of fact, the United States witnessed close to 10,000 traffic accident fatalities as a resulting of accidents involving intoxicated drivers in 2011. These kinds of fatalities accounted for close to a third of all of the traffic accident deaths throughout the year.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were nearly 150 people who were killed in alcohol-related traffic accidents in 2011. These fatalities accounted for close to 40 percent of all of the traffic accident fatalities the state witnessed that year.

As is stands now, drivers who are charged with a drunk driving offense for the first time will face up to 30 months in jail, up to a $5,000 fine, a $250 assessment, a one year driver’s license suspension and will have to complete a court assigned treatment program. Massachusetts also has an implied consent law. That means that if you refuse to submit to a chemical test you will be subject to a fine and automatic license suspension. Unfortunately, these consequences don’t seem to be enough to get drivers to stay sober behind the wheel.

Knowing the penalties of a drunk driving charge and the possible consequences involved in an accident should be enough of a deterrent. But unfortunately, drivers continue to put their lives, and the lives of other innocent motorists at risk.
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Recently, during an early-morning accident, an alleged drunk driver swerved her Cadillac into another lane and forced a Boston Globe delivery truck off of an elevated roadway on Interstate 93 and down to another road nearly 2 stories below.

According to AutoBlog, the alleged intoxicated driver told authorities that she wasn’t driving when the accident happened. She later admitted to being behind the wheel. According to the accident report, she had her driver’s license suspended close to 10 times in the past. The Boston Globe driver was taken to the hospital and was last listed in fair condition.

Our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers understand that drunk driving car accidents are 100 percent preventable. Still, drivers throughout the nation continue to get behind the wheel and cause serious and fatal accidents — all while under the influence. According to 7NEWS, the intoxicated driver showed little remorse for what happened. She was allegedly very uncooperative and said she didn’t care about the truck driver because he didn’t die.

The entire area where the accident happened was shut down for several hours while response crews worked to clean the scene.

The driver has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, causing serious bodily injury and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. She has entered a not guilty plea and was held on a $10,000 cash bail and barred from driving or consuming alcohol if she’s able to post that amount.

She refused a breath analysis test after Monday’s accident, triggering a six-month suspension of her license, records show. According to the Transportation Department, that suspension will increase to three years because of her previous drunk driving arrests.

If you are convicted or a drunk driving or driving under the influence of drugs charge, your penalties largely depend on the number of previous offenses on your record.

Typically, for a first offense, you’re looking at a driver’s license suspension of at least a year, a fine of up to $5,000, possible jail time of up to 2.5 years, possible enrollment in an alcohol education program and a driver’s license reinstatement fee that can wind up being at least $1,200.

If you kill someone while driving under the influence, you can face driver’s license revocation for 15 years, a lifetime revocation of your driver’s license, a minimum of 20 years before bars at up to a $25,000 fine. A judge is able to sentence more if they feel necessary.

It’s oftentimes not the drunk drivers who are injured or killed in these kinds of accidents. It’s the innocent and drivers who are injured by the poor choices that these irresponsible drivers make. If you think you spot a drunk driver on our roadways, do your part and report them to authorities. Your report could wind up saving someone’s life.
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