Articles Posted in Drunk Driving in Massachusetts

Teenage drunk driving is a major problem in Boston and throughout the United States. Teenagers are inexperienced drivers under the best of circumstances and are more likely than their older counterparts to get into an accident and to hurt themselves or others. Teens who drive drunk are, of course, not in the best of circumstances and are taking a very significant risk with their own lives, the lives of passengers and the lives of every single other person who happens to be on the road at the time.

Recently, some schools have begun trying to take more active measures to curb teen drunk driving. Our Boston injury attorneys support efforts to reduce the dangers of drunk driving although there is some controversy as to whether the steps the schools have taken are legal or ethical. We believe that the rights of teens need to be respected, but that schools and parents should take some responsibility for educating teens on the dangers of drunk driving and imposing consequences for the behavior.

The Controversial Use of Breath Tests in Schools
According to Boston.com, two Massachusetts’ students who attend Weymouth High School have now sued the school system as a result of their suspensions following the homecoming dance. The students, both girls, were given a breath test after the homecoming dance.

Based on the results of the breath test, they were suspended for nine days under the school’s zero-tolerance policy for alcohol consumption. The state of Massachusetts also has a zero-tolerance policy for young drivers, who can have their license suspended for DUI even if they are below the .08 legal limit that applies to adults over 21.

The girls who were suspended suggest that the school district violated their due process rights and their civil rights. They contend they were not intoxicated at the time when the breath tests took place and they want their school records to be expunged by the district.

The case has, according to Boston.com, drawn attention to the use of breath tests in schools as a method of stopping student drinking. There are several schools in the area that use breath tests, including Hingham High School, which has been administering a test to every student attending school sponsored dances since 2006 when a problem occurred. Westwood High School has also used breath tests as a condition of entry for school dances for years. Spokespeople for both these schools indicate that there has not been an incident of alcohol use at dances since the breath test policy went into effect.

While these schools admitted to using breath tests, the Boston.com article indicates that there is no clear data on exactly how many schools are using this practice but that it is likely not that common. There are legal issues that must be addressed, which may explain why more schools aren’t doing it.

However, the Boston.com article also indicates that interest is growing since teen drunk drivers are often killed when coming or going from a school activity. The use of breath tests may have their greatest advantage not in catching teens who are drunk but instead in acting as a deterrent, preventing the kids from drinking before attending an event. If this is the case and if teens aren’t tested without reasonable cause, but are stopped from drinking and endangering themselves through the threat of a breath test, this could be a good step towards combatting the dangers of teen drunk driving.
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Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has had a tremendous impact on changing the narrative on drunk driving and making it socially unacceptable to get drunk and drive. The organization, which was started by a mother who lost her child in a drunk driving accident, also has done a lot of public education and lobbying to try to inform the public about drunk driving dangers and to try to institute strong laws to deter DUI offenders.

On February 15, 2013, MADD also tackled another issue that drivers often face: the risk of driving at night. Our Boston drunk driving accident attorneys urge everyone to pay attention to the tips provided by Mothers Against Drunk Driving so they can drive more safely after dark.

MADD Tips for Night Driving
According to MADD, seven out of ten drivers in the United States is afraid to drive at night as a result of problems with low visibility. Drivers who are afraid to drive at night have varying concerns. Forty-percent of those drivers, for example, fear that they will hit a person or an animal when they are driving after dark. A quarter of surveyed drivers indicated that they were worried about their ability to see road markings and signs after the sun had set.

These concerns of drivers may be legitimate, at least to some extent, because visibility is worse at night and it is thus harder to stay safe and avoid crashes. MADD has provided some tips to help those who are afraid to drive at night, and their advice includes the following:

• Prepare to drive safely before getting on the road. This means adjusting the mirrors; setting the dimming feature on your rear-view mirror if you have this option; and making sure that the headlights are working and free of debris.
• Pay attention to headlights. Your own headlights should be set on high if you are driving in the country or on deserted roads but should be set lower for city driving so they do not blind others. You’ll also have to pay attention to the headlights of others. If you are being blinded by the bright headlights of an oncoming car, then you should try to move into a different lane where the headlights aren’t in your direct view. If you are being blinded by overly bright headlights behind you, then you may wish to move to the right to allow the car to pass or even to find a safe place to pull over and allow the other car to go ahead.
• Keep your windows clear. You should have an ice scraper with you in your vehicle at all times in order to make sure you can clear off snow and ice if an unexpected storm develops. It is also essential to keep your wiper fluid full and to be sure your wiper blades are working. The time to do this is before the snow storm, so be prepared.
• Use your defrost and defog feature if needed. This can be important to improve visibility on nights that are cold and damp. In order to get your windows defrosted as quickly as possible, you should pull in air from outside the vehicle rather than running the defroster in circulation mode. Circulation mode just circulates air that is in the car; it takes longer for windows to defog or defrost with circulation air instead of outside air.
• Remain alert. You always must be on the lookout for pedestrians, debris, animals, stalled cars and reflectors.

These tips should hopefully help you and your loved ones to avoid an accident at night. They also illustrate that those who drive drunk at night (an especially common time for drunk driving) are taking a grave risk since they will be less able to identify obstacles or respond to difficult night driving conditions. These drunk drivers are, unfortunately, likely to injure themselves or to injure others by their behavior.
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Underage drinking and driving is a deadly practice that Massachusetts is making every effort to combat. In 2013, for example, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security is offering a grant to local district attorneys willing to host underage drinking prevention conferences.

Our Boston drunk driving accident attorneys are in favor of every effort to help stop teens from driving drunk. We believe that the new conferences planned by the Office of Public Safety and Security will prove helpful in finding new ways to combat the problem of underage drinking and driving.

The Dangers of Teen Drunk Driving
Stopping kids from drinking and driving is very important since the statistics indicate that drunk driving among teens is a major cause of injury and death. As the Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Public Safety and Security indicates:

• Auto accidents are the top cause of death for drivers ages 15-20. When young adults within this age group drive drunk, the danger is exacerbated because of their limited driving experience combined with the impairment caused by alcohol.
• NHTSA figures show that 30 percent of fatalities among 15-20 year olds killed in car accidents occurred when the drivers had a BAC of .01 or higher. In 25 percent of these fatal crashes, the drivers had a BAC of .08.
• 71 percent of the young drivers who were killed in drunk driving crashes in 2010 were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the accident.

The data on teens and drunk driving is cause for major concern and the Massachusetts’ Office of Public Safety and Security believes that new conferences taught by District Attorneys can potentially help to limit the serious risk to young drivers.

The Underage Drinking and Driving Conferences
According to the Office of Public Safety, the goals for the new conferences are statewide and include:

• Hosting conferences that last for at least one day and that bring together people who play a key roll in stopping underage drinking. These people include parents; court personnel and law enforcement; school employees and athletic coaches; healthcare providers; youth service providers; and business and government leaders.
• Creating a plan to increase the readiness of the community to enforce underage drinking laws and to help change the way people in the community look at underage drinking.
• Hosting workshops and presentations that touch upon important subjects such as social host laws; the link between drinking and highway safety; school policies; and making responsible decisions on the use of alcohol.
• Creating a forum for people to discuss the impact of the community on underage drinking. Discussions can include the social pressures within the community as well as how to encourage responsible decisions regarding underage drinking.
• Creating a method of evaluating the success of the conference and the progress towards instituting change within the community.

These goals are important ones that the Office of Public Safety has set because they believe community action is key to stopping underage drinking. The conferences recognize the role that adult influence can have on teens and hope to find ways to harness both the power of adult guidance as well as the power of the community to combat the serious problems of underage drinking and driving.
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In 2010, a drunk driver was involved in a hit-and-run crash in Worcester. The hit and run crash caused a fatality and the drunk driver is now out on parole. Concerned about the drunk driver’s history of DUI convictions and hoping to save other families from the grief of losing a loved one, the son of the deceased victim has taken matters into his own hands.

According to CBS Boston, the son of the victim has sent out thousands of post cards to Millbury and Sutton residents because the paroled drunk driver lives in the area. The postcards have a picture of the drunk driver along with a warning urging everyone to call 911 if the drunk driver is spotted driving.

Our Massachusetts drunk driving accident attorneys understand the devastation that a drunk driver can cause and we understand the motivations of the son of the deceased victim is issuing a warning to others. We hope that the driver who caused the crash will refrain from doing anything to harm anyone else and we hope that residents will be mindful of the warning on the postcards and will contact law enforcement if they see dangerous behavior on the road.

Taking Action to Stop Drunk Drivers
The post cards sent to warn residents of the paroled drunk driver include not just a picture of the man but also a listing of his prior motor vehicle convictions as well as orders from the judge mandating that he refrain from drinking and driving. The son of the man who was killed hopes that residents will be alerted by the post cards and will be able to call law enforcement before the driver can drive drunk and hurt anyone else. While this may seem like extreme behavior to some, the fact is convicted drunk drivers are far more likely to cause a serious or fatal accident than a driver who has no alcohol-related driving convictions on his record.

CBS Boston asked Millbury Police Chief Mark Moore about the postcards and the police chief indicated that this effort was the first of its kind that he had seen. However, the police chief also indicted that the information on the post card is both accurate and available through public record.

The drunk driver’s probation will last until 2022 and, based on his past actions, there is strong precedent suggesting he may not necessarily follow the requirements and refrain from drinking and driving. The drunk driver has violated probation in the past, prompting a judge to order both a GPS monitor as well as a device that checks blood alcohol remotely. These devices must be worn until probation ends.

The postcards will hopefully serve as another deterrent to prevent the man from drinking and driving again and as another means of enforcing his probation. When the community gets involved and stands up against drunk drivers who put others in danger, hopefully this will be enough to get the dangerous driver to change his ways once and for all.
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Superbowl Sunday is a great day in sports and is a time when many people get together and have a few beers and watch the game. Unfortunately, if you are headed out to celebrate at a bar or at a friend’s house, you will have to be careful about how you get home. Superbowl Sunday is also a day when many people make the dangerous choice to drink and drive, and this choice could be deadly.

Our Boston drunk driving injury attorneys urge everyone to be smart on this upcoming Superbowl Sunday. While you can certainly enjoy the game with a drink or two, you should have a plan in place to make sure that you do not get hurt on your way home.

Staying Safe and Sober on Superbowl Sunday
Having a beer (or a few) goes hand-in-hand with the Superbowl for many, and law enforcement is aware. In fact, efforts have been underway for years to try to curb the dangerous practice of drinking and driving on Superbowl Sunday.

In 2008, for example, the Governors’ Highway Safety Association partnered with communities across the United States to launch a campaign called Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk. The initiative came after 130 people died during Superbowl weekend in 2006 and it involved both increasing the presence of law enforcement on the roads and stepping up public education on the dangers of drunk driving on Superbowl Sunday.

Massachusetts’ law enforcement continues to be aware of the risks of drunk driving on the biggest football day of the year. Their response will include efforts to curb dangerous drivers and there are will be more police on the streets and more sobriety checkpoints set up. These efforts, hopefully, will help to ensure that no one is killed or seriously injured in a drunk driving crash.

Football fans can also take the initiative to protect themselves and their friends from a drunk driving crash on Superbowl Sunday. Some of the alternatives you have to create a plan for safe driving include:

• Having people over to watch the game. If you invite guests over, you can drink in a safe environment in your home and you won’t have to worry about driving after. Remember, though, that you are responsible for any guests that come to your home. This means if you have a party, you can’t let your friends leave if they’ve been drinking unless they have a designated driver.
• Planning for a designated driver prior to the game. If you are going to go be going to a bar or to a friend’s house to watch the football event, you should make sure that you have someone to drive you home. Be sure that there are plenty of non-alcoholic drinks available for the DD so that he or she has more incentive to stay sober.
• Taking a taxi home if you’ve had too much to drink. Sometimes, you may plan on just having a beer or two but things may get out of hand if your friends are drinking a lot or if your favorite team is losing. If you are going to drink anything at all, you should plan on taking a taxi if you don’t have a ride since it can be very hard to tell if you’ve had too much once you have already started drinking.

By following these tips and by making a commitment to sober driving on Superbowl Sunday, you can enjoy the same without putting yourself or others at risk of a drunk driving crash.
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On January 16, 2013, a nine-time convicted drunk driver was arrested and held without bail. The driver was falling down drunk and had a bottle of vodka on the passenger seat of a U-Haul, which he crashed into an SUV. The offender fell when he stepped out of the U-Haul, repeatedly fell asleep and was only intermittently aware of where he was when police located him at a gas station.

As the Boston Herald reports, the offender has a long record of driving while intoxicated. His first DUI offense was in Brookline in 1984 and his most recent, prior to this latest incident, was in 2007. The driver had his license permanently revoked for life as a result of his repeated DUIs and yet he was still driving anyway — and driving a rented box truck, no less.

Our Boston DUI accident attorneys believe that this case is an important warning to every driver on the road.

Repeat DUI Offenders May Drive Without a License
The story about the nine-time DUI offender illustrates a very important point. The offender had no license, and had his license permanently revoked. Yet, he was driving anyway. Unfortunately, being intoxicated and having poor judgment as a result of being impaired can result in people making the unwise choice to drive without a license. The truth of the matter is so many of these people never quit driving at all — drunk or sober.

One big problem when a drunk driver (or any driver) drives without a license is that often the driver will have no auto insurance. After all, car insurance is very expensive for people who have been found guilty of DUI and is even more costly for people with repeat DUI offenses, if it is even available at all. For all of these reasons, a drunk driver without a license is very likely to not have any type of insurance policy at all.

When someone is injured by the actions of an unlicensed, uninsured drunk driver, the victim may face significant obstacles to recovering compensation. While the individual injured by the drunk driver could sue the drunk, chances are this would be a futile exercise.

If the drunk had no insurance, then there is no insurance company to pay a judgment. Anything that an injured victim is awarded would have to come out of the drunk defendant’s personal assets. While this is fine if the defendant has personal assets, often the defendant has little or no income or assets. A judgment, therefore, becomes almost impossible to collect and the injured victim is left with nothing. This is why those injured by drunk drivers without a license may benefit greatly from personal injury protection insurance (PIP) and from any uninsured motorist coverage. Dram shop litigation may also pursue a restaurant or bar that sold an intoxicated drunk the alcohol he consumed before the crash. While each case is unique, the commonality is the need for an experienced attorney in the wake of a serious crash with an intoxicated motorist.
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Under Massachusetts law, when you get behind the wheel and drive on the roads, you are giving your implied consent to have your blood-alcohol content tested if police have probable cause to believe you are drunk.

This means that if police pull you over and suspect you are drunk, you cannot just refuse to take a BAC test. While you will generally have your choice of a blood or breath test, a refusal to take some type of BAC test can result in a 180-day license suspension for a first offense, with longer suspensions for repeat offenders. Of course, some people will choose to refuse to take the test anyway, accepting the license suspension.

There is a way to get around this refusal. In some states, law enforcement has to get a judge to issue a warrant ordering the potential drunk driver to submit to a blood test despite refusing to do so. In other states, however, police have even more leeway in investigating drunk driving cases by requiring blood tests. In January of 2013, the United States Supreme Court began reviewing a case related to how far states could go in DUI investigations. Our Boston drunk driving accident attorneys believe that the decision the Supreme Court makes is going to have a major impact on the laws related to DUI evidence collection throughout the U.S.

Supreme Court Considering the Rights of Suspected Drunk Drivers
The Supreme Court Case has arisen out of Missouri’s rules about taking blood from drunk drivers. Under Missouri laws, which are backed by the Obama administration, drunk drivers may be forced to submit to a blood test even without a warrant being obtained from a judge. In other words, even if someone refused a test, the individual could be forced to submit to one by law enforcement without a court order from a judge.

The rationale behind forced blood tests is that evidence is being lost or destroyed with each minute that passes. This is because the driver’s blood alcohol level is continually going down. If police have to wait to find a judge and get a warrant, a person’s blood alcohol may fall below the limit in this interim waiting period even if the individual was actually drunk while driving.

Of course, there are also plenty of arguments about why the Missouri police shouldn’t just be allowed to take blood. The biggest argument is that requiring that a person submit to a blood test in the absence of a warrant or a court order is a violation of a person’s fourth amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. A blood test, after all, is a very intimate and personal type of search. Based on this logic and on other arguments about the rights of defendants, around half of the states in the U.S. have prohibitions against warrantless blood tests in most DUI cases.

The Supreme Court began on Wednesday to consider arguments from both sides on whether the Missouri law is constitutional. As Boston.com reports, however, the Supreme Court appeared reluctant on Wednesday to OK blood tests with no warrants.

If the Supreme Court decides that such searchers are not permitted without warrants, this will provide more protection for defendants and could make things a little bit harder for plaintiffs.

Not having proof that a driver was actually intoxicated can make a criminal case harder. A person injured in a drunk driving accident can also have a more difficult time proving his case if he files a civil lawsuit since there will be an absence of evidence showing that the defendant was over the legal limit. However, even in cases when no warrantless blood test is performed, enough evidence may be collected against the drunk driver so that he is held accountable criminally and made to pay monetary damages to victims of an auto accident he causes.
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Everyone knows that drunk driving is risky behavior and that driving while intoxicated can lead to an auto accident. However, knowing of the dangers of drunk driving in the abstract is different than coming face-to-face with someone who has been the victim of a drunk driving crash or who has had his or her life shattered as a result of a drunk driver. This is why drunk driving accident victims and families of those killed by drunk drivers so often join the campaign as spokespeople against drunk driving.

One example of this is a Massachusetts’ mother who made a public plea to everyone out celebrating the New Year. As CBS Boston reported, the mother urged every partygoer on New Years to call a cab, use a designated driver, walk or do anything but drink and drive. Our Boston drunk driving accident attorneys urge everyone to listen to this mother’s plea not just on the New Years holiday but for all of 2013 and the future. We urge you to make a resolution not just to avoid drinking and driving over New Years but to make a lifetime commitment never to drink and drive.

Drunk Driving Changes Lives
The Massachusetts’ mother who came out urging all partygoers on New Years to avoid drinking and driving was able to speak first hand about the loss that a drunk driver can cause. Her son died at age 19 when he was walking home from work. He was struck by a drunk driver at Soldiers Field Road in Brighton- a split second that ended a promising young life and that changed his family forever.

Because of her grief and sadness over her son’s death, she has become an anti-drunk driving advocate and spoke out at a press conference with Massachusetts state police on the Friday before New Years. She cautioned that a drunk driving death ruins more than just the life of the deceased. The family and loved ones of the victim are affected, of course, but the driver and his family will also have to live forever with the knowledge that they caused a death. Drunk driving, therefore, is never worth the risk.

Drunk Driving Still Remains a Persistent Problem
Despite widespread publicity of the dangers of drunk driving and despite widespread knowledge of how risky the behavior is, drunk driving continues to be a problem. As CBS Boston reported, Massachusetts police arrested 4,800 drunk drivers in 2012 even before the New Years holiday, which tends to be a major drinking day. The 4,800 arrests are a full 1,000 more arrests than those that occurred in 2011. The increase in arrests was caused, in part, by increased law enforcement efforts and by programs putting more police on the roads, especially during times when people are most likely to drink such as New Years.

Unfortunately, law enforcement cannot be everywhere and they cannot find and arrest every drunk driver. This means that it is up to each individual to make the commitment not to drink and drive. Remember, when someone breaks that rule and chooses to drive drunk, the consequences can be tragic.
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With all of the holiday cheer, it’s easy to forget about the responsibility you have if you’re throwing a party at your home or work.

In Massachusetts, a party host, and even employers hosting holiday parties, can be held liable in cases where a guest is in an accident after consuming alcohol at an event.

Our Boston drunk driving accident attorneys understand that many of these accidents occur after a celebration at a bar, restaurant or private party. In these cases, hosts are held responsible in ensuring that guests are not over-served and those who are underage are not served at all. If any of this happens and an accident results, party hosts can be held responsible for vehicle repair costs, medical bills, wrongful death and lost-work wages.

Party Hosting Tips:

-Make sure that the designated drivers and the underage attendees have plenty of nonalcoholic beverages.

-Ask all of your guests to plan ahead and to designate a sober driver before the festivities kick off.

-After a couple of hours, stop serving alcohol beverages. This is especially important a few hours before your party ends.

-Look through your guest list before sending out invites. Make sure you know who is a responsible drinker.

-Consider hiring a bartender instead of allowing guests to serve themselves. This will help to have the alcohol consumption monitored.

-Make sure you’ve got Massachusetts cab company phone numbers handy!

-Allow intoxicated guests to sleep over at your house.

-Try to get guests to sign a Safe and Sober Pledge before partying. You want to make sure everyone has a plan before busting out the alcohol.

-Try to figure out some fun games or activities to do at your party. This will help to take the focus off of drinking.

-Stay alert and considerate of your guests. Remember you have responsibilities as a party host.

Dram Shop and Social Host Liability Laws in Massachusetts:

-Vendor liability for intoxicated adults: Yes.

-Vendor liability for intoxicated minors: Yes.

-Social host liability for intoxicated adults: No.

-Social host liability for intoxicated minors: Yes.

Under current liquor law, if a dram shop serves or sells to someone who is clearly intoxicated, they can be held liable if that person causes an accident — most commonly a drunk driving car accident. If you have fallen victim to these circumstances, you may be able to file a claim against the driver and the dram shop establishment or party host that served the alcohol. Hiring an experienced law firm is key in these incidents, as we can help to not only provide stern representation, but can also help to conduct a thorough investigation to establish liability in a dram shop claim.
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The National Transportation Safety Board recently declared that all convicted drunk drivers should be required to have ignition interlocks. They even included first-time offenders in this bunch, according to the Boston Globe.

As it stands now, these devices are required of all drunk driving offenders in 17 states. But in Massachusetts, first-time offenders are not required to use these devices unless ordered by a court. Many times, they’re not ordered for first-time offenders.

Our Boston drunk driving car accident lawyers understand that drunk driving crashes account for about a third of all roadway fatalities in the country. These devices have been proven in helping to stop drunk driving car accidents. How they work is a driver has to breathe into a breathalyzer in the vehicle before it can be started. Typically, if these devices gather a blood-alcohol concentration reading of .02 or .04 or higher then it won’t allow the engine to be started.

The National Transportation Safety Board is also trying to get automakers to develop a system that can figure out a driver blood alcohol concentration by using an infrared light. When the driver goes to hit the ignition button, it won’t start if they’ve been drinking too much. This device is still in the works though.

This technology is already in some workplace drug-testing programs. Officials believe that if it can be incorporated into new vehicles, then eventually all drivers would be tested before starting up the car and we could help to prevent the roughly 10,000 drunk driving fatalities that we see in the country every year!

The technologies hold ”great promise to be a game changer in highway safety,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman.

What does a driver have to do with an ignition interlock?

-Installation: A convicted driver has to contact an approved vendor and schedule a time for installation.

-Payment: There and installation fees along with maintenance feeds. Those are required to be paid by the driver.

-Maintenance: Every 30 days, the driver must visit with the vendor for a maintenance check and for a data upload.

-Usage: A driver is required to follow all of the rules and regulations that come with the ignition interlock. These devices cannot be tampered with in any way. If a driver is busted altering these devices, they could face even more charges in court.

In Massachusetts, there were close to 115 people killed accidents in which at least one driver was completely drunk in 2008. There were another 125 people who were killed in car accidents in which at least one driver was under the influence of alcohol. With close to 11,750 people arrested for DUI the year before, you’d think residents would learn. That’s not going to happen without ignition interlocks for more drivers.
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