Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog

May 6, 2015

Breath-Testing Equipment Problems in Massachusetts

When a driver is arrested in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol (OUI), local police or state troopers will attempt to administer a series of field sobriety tests. Three of these tests are considered standardized field sobriety tests, which were developed with help from the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

In addition to these standard field sobriety tests, there are also a variety of unapproved field sobriety tests, such as asking suspect to recite the alphabet. This test has not been validated as accurate. There are even some stranger tests, such as dropping a coin on the ground an asking a suspect to pick it up to see how their balance is affected. This test is not done all too often, because, in addition to it not generally being admissible in court, suspects have fallen over and hit their heads on the asphalt.

Even approved tests such as the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test are often not admissible in our state’s courts, unless an expert witness can validate the results. This leaves the breath test machine (colloquially called a breathalyzer, which is a genericized trademark) as the gold standard in proving whether a driver was drunk.
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May 3, 2015

Dehydrated Driving vs. Drunk Driving

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Everyone knows how dangerous it is to get behind the wheel while drunk, even though people are still willing risk their own lives and the lives of others on a nightly basis. A new study shows driving while dehydrated may be just as bad as drunk driving, according to a recent news report from Inquisitir.

In a study, drivers who were intoxicated above the legal limit and drivers who were dehydrated made two times as many mistakes as those who were sober and properly hydrated. It should be noted, this was not severe dehydration where the people were risking death, but rather mild dehydration. Researchers wanted to be clear the purpose of their study was not to minimize dangers of drunk driving, but rather the make people aware of a danger with is largely unknown at this time by the general public.

Specifically, even mild dehydration can lead to negative effects on a person’s mood and reduced concentration, alertness problems, short-term memory trouble, fatigue, and headaches. All of the symptoms make it much more difficult to concentrate on driving a motor vehicle safely as to prevent a car accident.
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April 28, 2015

MBTA Bus Driver Arrested on DUI Charges in Personal Vehicle

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When we get on an MBTA bus or any other T vehicle, including green line trolleys, we assume the driver will be sober. It is not just passengers who are concerned about the dangers of a drunk mass transit driver, as MBTA policy and United States Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations require drivers to submit to pre-employment drug an alcohol testing, as well as random tests during the course of their employment.
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April 24, 2015

Massachusetts Man Arrested for Fifth DUI

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent report from My Fox Boston, a Marlborough, Massachusetts district court judge held defendant without bail after he was arrested for his fifth drunk driving arrest. Prosecutors allege 55-year-old defendant was driving his SUV when he crashed into an unmarked police vehicle. His car is said to have struck the passenger side area of the police car. Authorities also alleged defendant’s 14-year-old daughter was also in his SUV at time of the crash. First responders treated his daughter for minor injuries. Police also report the detective allegedly hit by defendant’s car was treated and released from a local hospital.

Court records indicate police administered a series of field sobriety tests, which he reportedly failed. Court records also indicate defendant was convicted of drunk driving in 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1998. In this instance, prosecutors charged defendant with operating under the influence (OUI) of intoxicating liquor fifth offense, as well as child endangerment and other moving violations. Defendant is scheduled for a dangerousness hearing at the Marlborough District Court.

In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, courts generally do not release people on bond, as people are familiar with from TV and other jurisdictions. This is because of a dislike for bail bond recovery agents (bounty hunters) chasing people through the Commonwealth with unlicensed weapons. Instead defendants are generally released on their own personal recognizance, held on small amounts of cash bond, or held without bond after a dangerousness hearing. It is important to note defendant has not been convicted of any crimes in connection with his recent arrested and is presumed innocent unless and until his proven guilty.
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April 21, 2015

Ridesharing Company Develops Breath Testing Kiosks to Stop Drunk Driving

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In recent years, ride sharing companies have become an increasingly popular way for people to get home from bars and nightclubs when they are too intoxicated to drive home. This is largely because of the expense of taking a taxicab and public transportation options being limited in the early morning hours in Boston. While many young people have chosen to take the T’s Night Owl bus home from the bars in Government Center at least once, the experience of being on a bus with 49 drunk people is not one many people care to repeat.

brAccording to recent news feature from ABC News, Uber, a successful ridesharing firm, has tested a new program/marketing campaign where they operate kiosks that function as alcohol breath testing devices to tell people if they are too intoxicated to legally drive home.

This program called “You Drink, We Drive” was first tested in Canada. The kiosk was designed to dispense a disposable straw into which the user must blow for six seconds. The device then uses what is either a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GCMS) device or an infrared mass spectrometer to calculate users blood alcohol content (BAC) and will display the result on the screen.
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April 13, 2015

Massachusetts Man Arrested for Fatal Alleged Drunk Driving Car Crash

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from CBS Boston, a man from Massachusetts has been arrested in connection with an alleged drunk driving accident in which a couple was killed. Providence authorities say defendant was driving in the wrong direction on a highway when he hit victim’s vehicle.

Troopers report the 24-year-old defendant, who is from Webster, Massachusetts, hit victim’s vehicle and killed the 21-year-old woman who was driving the car and her 23-year-old boyfriend. Family members say the couple had a 6-year-olddaughter and were going to get married later this year. The family has also set up an internet fund collection website to raise money to care for the victims’ surviving daughter.

Prosecutors have charged defendant with drunk driving homicide and driving to endanger resulting in death. A judge has ordered defendant to be held on $100,000. As of this point, all criminal charges are only allegations, and defendant has not been convicted of any crimes in connection with this fatal drunk driving car accident.
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April 6, 2015

Massachusetts Woman Arrested after Drunk Driving Car Crash

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While drunk driving crashes occur all the time, some make the news and others do not. In one recent drunk driving accident arrest, the story was picked up by a variety of news organizations, because this particular defendant decided to stick her tongue out at the camera when police were taking her mug shot. While some mugshots are more interesting than others, drunk driving crashes can and do have serious consequences for those in the at-fault driver’s car and innocent pedestrians and other drivers throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Fortunately, while this particular drunk driving crash did result in property damage, there was no personal injury associated with the car accident. Police say they were called to the scene of a car accident in which alleged at-fault driver had run into a wooden fence.

When police arrived on the scene, defendant allegedly told authorities she ran off the road and crashed into the fence because she was talking on her cellphone to obtain driving directions and was writing them down while behind the wheel and crashed her vehicle as result of the distraction.
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April 1, 2015

Pregnant Woman Arrested for Drunk Driving

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from Fox 6 Springfield, a pregnant woman was arrested for drunk driving after she crashed her SUV into another car. She also had two young children with her at the time of her arrest.

Authorities say defendant, who was six months pregnant, was driving with her 18-month-old twins when she rear-ended another vehicle. When police responded to the scene of the crash, officers report smelling a strong odor of intoxicating beverages and found beer inside defendant’s vehicle. Police administered field sobriety tests, which she allegedly failed, and then she took a breath test and blew 0.36. This is three times the legal limit in the United States, including in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

After police placed defendant under arrest, the father of her twins took custody of the children. Police notified the state department of child services of defendant’s alleged drunk driving with children not properly restrained in the vehicle. While there were minor injuries reported, luckily no one was seriously injured in what could have been a much more serious car accident.
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March 31, 2015

Secret Service Makes New Rules on Drunk Driving for Agents

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In response to the recent wave of bad press after two high-level special agents allegedly showed up to a bomb threat investigation drunk and possibly ran over the suspect package, the United States Secret Service is tightening regulations involving use of agency vehicles.
New regulations prohibit Secret Service personnel from driving official vehicles within 10 hours of consuming any amount of alcohol, according to a recent news article from CBS.
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March 29, 2015

Massachusetts Man Arrested for Fourth Offense DUI

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Many people learn their lesson after the first time they are arrested and convicted of drunk driving in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, some drivers will keeping taking chances with other people’s safety until they end up in prison. A recent article from My Fox Boston is an example of someone who is alleged to be one of these repeat offenders.

Authorities in Hingham, Massachusetts say they have recently arrested a man on his fourth offense for operating a motor vehicle under the influence (OUI) of intoxicating liquor or drugs. Just before 10 p.m., defendant was driving around a rotary when an officer observed a can of beer in the passenger seat. They detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage. Officers also noticed the man’s eyes were bloodshot. When asked if had been driving, officers say defendant admitted he had been drinking alcohol.

At this point, officers asked defendant to perform a series of standardized field sobriety tests, and he agreed. Officers determined he failed all three tests. When officers placed defendant under arrest for drunk driving, they performed an inventory search of his vehicle. During this search incident to arrest, they supposedly found two open beer cans under the driver’s seat and a plastic bag containing less than one ounce of a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana. Police issued defendant a civil citation for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.
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