Articles Posted in Drunk Driving in Massachusetts

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In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we use the term drunk driving in casual conversation, but the actual criminal charge is called operation under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs (OUI).  We use OUI in Massachusetts as opposed to DUI or DWI like other states, because it does not have to be a traditional motor vehicle that the defendant is operating to get charged with an OUI.

marijuanaIn fact, you can get an OUI on a non-powered bicycle, a scooter, a boat, or just about any type of conveyance device, with exception of a wheelchair, since that would be highly discriminatory towards a person who is disabled and cannot walk.  Continue reading

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Days on which football games are played are often problematic on the roads, specifically for drunk driving hazards. In the Boston-area, fans like to go to Foxboro and drink at the stadium. Many prefer bars in the greater Boston area and drink while watching the game.

barAs part of a continuing effort to curb drunk driving in the Commonwealth, state officials have been compiling what they termed a “place of last drink list.”  This means that whenever possible, they want to find out where a person was arrested for drunk driving and put it on the list.  This will not only provide the public with this information, but it will also allow alcoholic beverage control personnel to conduct investigations at these bars and find out if there is a problem. Continue reading

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While people often use the term “Breathalyzer” to describe the test used to determine a driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC), that is technically a brand name for a breath alcohol testing device that has not been used in many years.  It is basically the way people use the term Band-Aid for any adhesive bandages or say Photoshop to mean any digital editing of a photograph.  As it turns out, the makers of the respective products police their brands to make sure people don’t do that, but, as you can tell, those efforts haven’t worked so well.

beersIn reality, there are various breath alcohol test devices used, and the two most popular in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are the Alcotest 9510, made by a company called Draeger, and an EC/IR II, made by a company called Intoximeter.  These devices are very important in keeping drunk drivers off the road and thereby preventing drunk driving accidents in Boston and towns across Massachusetts and the nation at large. Continue reading

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Vince Young, former NFL quarterback and star on the University of Texas Longhorns football team, has just been sentenced to probation following a drunk driving conviction, according to a report from UPI.  Young is 33-years-old and has only been officially retired for a couple of years, but has not seen playing in quite some time.

footballProsecutors have said that Young was arrested with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.246 grams of ethanol (drinking alcohol) per 100 milliliters of blood.  The legal limit in every state in America is 0.08.  The reason for this is because that was the limit at which research conducted over decades by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that a person cannot safely perform the tasks necessary to drive a motor vehicle. Continue reading

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Drunk driving is a crime.  This means that it is illegal, as opposed to civil moving violations like running a stop sign. Even though many people do not like to think of themselves as “criminals” after being arrested for operating under the influence (OUI) of intoxicating liquor or drugs, your Massachusetts Board of Probation (BOP) record, which is often called a “Bop” in courts in the Commonwealth, will say otherwise.

gavelOne of the reasons people seem to think of drunk driving more as a traffic offense than a criminal offense is because many more people drive drunk on regular basis that there are people that commit violent crimes, for example.  Basically, people tend to justify drunk driving with an everyone is doing it argument. Continue reading

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According to a recent news report from the Times Herald-Record, a man has pleaded guilty to a drunk driving accident that killed his friend 17 years after the accident occurred. He pleaded guilty to drunk driving, second-degree manslaughter, and charges related to violation of the bail statute by not coming back to court when he was out on bail during the pendency of his court case.

prisonProsecutors have said the defendant, who was in his late 20s at the time of the accident, lost control of the 1988 station wagon his was driving and crashed.  His friend, who was a 24-year-old passenger in the car, died as a result of his injuries sustained in the crash. During the court case in 2000, the defendant attempted to plead guilty. Continue reading

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Drinking a bar is perfectly legal, so long as the person is 21 or older. However, it violates the law to drink to the point of intoxication and then get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Not only is it illegal, it could result in a serious or even fatal drunk driving accident.

beersWhile the police and lawmakers have been trying to curb drunk drivers, state officials are now turning their focus to bars, as more than 50 percent of all drunk driving arrests and accidents, start with a person being served alcohol at a bar, according to a recent news article from 22 WWLP News. Continue reading

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A police officer from the North Anderson, Massachusetts Police Department was arrested following an alleged drunk driving crash, according to a recent news article from NECN.  The alleged drunk driving car accident occurred in Pennsylvania back in September, though word only recently made it the city where he works.

policeThe facts contained in the report of the incident are somewhat muddled, though we do know the officer was arrested and is accused of DUI. He was reportedly accompanied at the time by another detective with the same agency. Both officers were subsequently placed on administrative leave in October, but only one had been arrested.

The incident reportedly occurred in the middle of Pennsylvania near Penn State University, and the officers involved were allegedly in their department’s 2008 Dodge Charger Police cruiser. The driving officer is accused of crashing his police cruiser into a flatbed tow truck and then fled the scene on foot. Continue reading

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According to a recent news story from WFMZ-TV News, a Pennsylvania man has been ordered by the judge to complete 25 hours of community service.  This will consist of traveling to different colleges in the area and speaking about his drunk driving car accident, arrest and sentencing.  The community service was not the only condition of his sentence.

prisonProsecutors have said the car accident, which occurred back in 2015, involved a head on collision where the victim was trapped in a burning car for more than an hour until firefighters could arrive at the scene and suppress the blaze enough to free him from the vehicle in which he was trapped. Amazingly, the victim survived. As for the 22-year-old defendant, first responders found him lying on the ground next to his own vehicle.  Continue reading

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In what appears to be an attempt to curb driving while giving a nod to the cult classic “Super Troopers,” one police force in Canada warned potential drunk drivers that if they drive drunk during the holiday season, the will get caught, pay fines, lose their license, and, as an added bonus/punishment, they will be forced to listen to their copy of a “Nickelback’s Silver Side Up” cassette tape, of which a photo was featured in their warning, according to a recent news release from UPI.  We can only assume they still have cassette players in their police cruisers.

drivingWhile this announcement clearly was made at least partially in jest, the police were very serious about their warnings to potential drunk drivers, and this was just a novel way to get their attention. The reality is that many people drink more than they normally do over the holidays.  This is due to office parties, family gatherings, and added stress in general during this time of year.  With more people drinking, there will be more people who get behind the wheel while drunk.  Continue reading

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