drunk driving accident

Police suspect DUI in crash that left 4 hurt

October 21, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A two-vehicle collision that occurred on Oct. 12 in Washington on US-101 left four individuals injured. According to the report, the truck accident was believed to have been caused by an intoxicated driver.

Police stated that the crash occurred when a 59-year-old man driving a pickup collided head-on with a sedan as the man drove around a line of vehicles that was waiting at a traffic light. Rescue workers who arrived at the scene took the injured sedan occupants, the driver and two passengers, ages 35 and 11, as well as a 14-year-old passenger in the pickup, to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles for treatment. The report did not disclose the nature of the victims’ injuries. The pickup truck driver was unhurt in the crash, as reported. The accident caused traffic delays for over two hours.

Authorities stated that the truck driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Following the incident, the suspect was arrested and placed in the Clallam County jail after undergoing booking procedures. He has been charged with vehicular assault and is awaiting the results of the police investigation.

Washington woman injured when car crashes Lake City bar

September 9, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

The Back Door Pub in the 12300 block of Lake City Way NE, Washington became the scene of an accident that injured one woman when a man in his 30s allegedly crashed his car into the bar. The woman was pinned between the building and the man’s vehicle. According to the owner of the bar, the man sped his SUV toward a power pole but instead veered toward a group of people and crashed into the building, damaging a wall.

The 31-year-old woman pinned against the building had to be extricated. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center where she was treated for a fractured leg.

The bar owner alleged the man purposely caused the accident because he had been refused a drink at the bar. Police are investigating the accident but have not yet confirmed if the driver was arrested or is facing a DUI charge.

Specific risk factor increases likelihood of teen DUIs

March 30, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Parents and teens, an important new study has been released that you should all be aware of. This study indicates that teens are more likely to drive under the influence (DUI) of alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription drugs that cause impairment after they have been exposed to similar behavior. Specifically, if teens ride in vehicles as passengers while a peer or an adult drives while impaired, they will become more likely to engage in similar behavior.

The government funded this study in an effort to better understand and to ultimately prevent drunk driving accidents. The study, which was recently published in the journal Pediatrics, suggests that teens become increasingly likely to engage in DUI behavior when they are exposed to such behavior as a passenger earlier and more frequently over the course of their young lives.

This means that as a parent, if you know that your child has been exposed to this kind of behavior it is important to counter the message that driving while impaired is at all acceptable. Teens, if you have been exposed to this behavior you may need to wrestle with the idea that driving while impaired is at all safe or okay.

The issue of driving while impaired by marijuana

March 7, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Voters in Washington and Colorado have determined that legalizing certain amounts of marijuana for adult recreational use is an advisable idea. However, particular consequences of increased marijuana use among the general adult population are proving to be less than ideal. For example, many lawmakers, experts and safety advocates are concerned that accidents resulting from motorists choosing to drive while impaired by marijuana will soon become as ubiquitous as drunk driving accidents.

This is a particularly concerning potential trend, given that driving while impaired by any substance, legal or illegal, can endanger one’s own life as well as the lives of fellow motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. While states have fairly uniform drunk driving laws and little tolerance for this behavior, states are fairly scattered in the ways in which they deal with motorists who are impaired by marijuana usage.

In addition, it is oftentimes more difficult to spot, catch and hold motorists accountable when they are impaired by the active ingredient in marijuana. According to the New York Times, field sobriety tests are roughly 88 percent accurate in determining whether or not a driver is drunk. However, these tests are only 30 percent accurate in determining whether or not a motorist is stoned, according to a study published in the professional journal Psychopharmacology back in 2012.

Study determines that buzzed driving is a myth

January 30, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

It is all too easy for responsible adults to unintentionally drive while intoxicated above the legal limit. Alcohol metabolizes at different rates depending on a variety of factors. Unfortunately, if you have a few drinks with dinner, you cannot always count on your body’s signals to let you know whether or not it is safe to drive as you may feel completely sober even when your blood alcohol content (BAC) is above .08.

So, what guidance should you follow when attempting to avoid driving under the influence (DUI)? A new study indicates that even if your BAC is below the legal limit of .08, you should avoid driving altogether until you are completely sober. Some Americans believe that being “only buzzed” prevents them from driving in harmful ways. But even if you are not legally drunk, you can still be an unintentional menace behind the wheel.

A study conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Diego concludes that drunk driving accidents occur even when “buzzed” (BAC of .01 to .07) and “minimally buzzed” (BAC of .01 specifically) motorists are driving with blood alcohol levels below the legal limit of .08. These researchers examined data associated with more than 570,000 fatal car accidents that occurred between 1994 and 2011. The data they analyzed indicates that even drivers with a BAC of .01 are nearly 50 percent more likely to cause fatal accidents than sober drivers are.

More females are driving drunk and causing safety hazards

November 1, 2013 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics, drunk driving rates have shifted towards the female population by approximately 15 percent over the past three decades. In the early 1980’s, drunk driving arrest rates were 90 percent male and 10 percent female. By 2011, the rate of drunk driving arrests had shifted to 75 percent male and 25 percent female.

Many safety experts understand that in order to reduce the rate of drunk driving accidents, our society must understand why the demographics of drunk drivers are shifting among gendered lines. Some suggest that women are driving more frequently, while others insist that it has become increasingly socially acceptable for women to drink substantial amounts of alcohol in public.

Some even suggest that the uptick in female drunk driving arrests is rooted in the substantial pressures women face within society to be all things at all times. The pressure to be a perfect employee, wife, mother, friend, community member, etc. can inspire women to drink in order to take the edge off.