Drunk and Distracted – Fighting Back Against Bad Drivers

One look at the statistics reveals that auto accidents are a serious problem in the United States.  National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show over 2.5 million injuries and over 42 thousand deaths were caused by motor vehicle accidents in 2006.  If you’ve been the victim of an automobile accident, then you can probably guess some of the reasons – driver intoxication, distracted drivers, driving and texting, speeding, fatigue – the list goes on and on.  If you’ve been injured or have lost a loved one because of another driver’s negligence you may want to know what is being done to keep these menacing drivers from wreaking further havoc.

 

Drivers who drive under the influence (DUI) or drive while distracted are the leading cause of accidents on our roads today.  The good news is that lawmakers have been looking for ways to pass legislation that will prevent these bad drivers from continuing to cause deaths and accidents on our roadways.

 

Driving Under the Influence

 

DUI is one of the leading causes of accidents and deaths on America’s roads.  In 2006 alcohol was involved in a full 41% of all fatalities, with 39% of fatalities in the State of Virginia caused by alcohol consumption.  It’s so bad that experts estimate that an alcohol related fatality occurs approximately every 32 minutes.  Drivers who think that they can get away with having just a drink or two are sorely mistaken.  Statistics show that 14% of deaths involved a low blood-alcohol level of between 0.01 and 0.07 BAC, with the remaining alcohol related deaths are attributed to blood alcohol levels of 0.08 and above.  If you think that these statistics don’t affect you, then you’re wrong.  Federal estimates reveal that 1 in 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol related accident sometime in their lives.

 

DUI is seen as a very serious problem in Virginia.  Under guidelines set forth by the NHTSA in 2006, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is working to enact some of the toughest DUI laws in the country.  One of these laws went into effect January 1, 2008, and was intended to allow the DMV to deny license issuance or renewal to individuals convicted of DUI or related offenses unless they proved they were insured for twice the required state liability limits.

 

Another new Virginia law aimed at tacking the DUI problem goes into effect July 1, 2008.  This law will deny a license to individuals convicted of alcohol-related reckless driving until they’ve enrolled in an alcohol safety action program.  In addition to these new laws, Virginia has set a number of goals aimed at combating DUI accidents in the state.  These include decreasing alcohol/drug-related crashes 1% by June, 2008 and increasing the number of DUI checkpoints across the state.  It remains to be seen if these steps will be enough to impact the DUI statistics in Virginia – let’s hope for all of our sakes that they work.

 

Distracted Drivers

 

Anybody who has shared the road with a Blackberry wielding executive or a teenager tapping away on a cell-phone knows that driver distraction is a major cause of near-accidents and accidents on our roads.  There are so many ways that a driver can become distracted these days, especially with all the new gadgets in our cars:  talking on the cell-phone, texting while driving, fiddling with an MP3 player or iPod, and even no-tech distractions like applying make-up, eating, and talking to passengers is dangerous.

 

One long-standing complaint from many drivers and officials is the prevalence of cell-phone use by drivers.  Despite the fact that many drivers seem to have no concerns about gabbing away on their cell-phone while driving, research has found that cell-phone use is a major cause of driver distraction.  So is it enough to go hands-free?  No, say the experts.  Even the so called “hands-free devices” do not lower the risk of accident.  One cited reason is that it’s the conversation itself that is distracting, not the technology used to hold the conversation. 

 

Last year Virginia lawmakers were successful in banning the use of cell-phones by under-18 drivers, even though the bill took 3 years and a great deal of General Assembly time to pass.  This year the General Assembly is evaluating bills that would further strengthen this particular law, changing cell-phone use by an under 18 driver to a primary offense (it’s currently a secondary offense – which means a driver can only be cited for cell-phone use if he or she is pulled over for another reason) and removing a provision that currently allows teens to use their phone while they are parked or stopped.

 

So far Virginia lawmakers have not been successful banning or restricting cell-phone use by older drivers.  However, with studies like the one published by University of Utah researchers claiming that talking on a cell-phone while driving is equivalent to having a blood-alcohol level (BAC) of 0.08 (the legal level for intoxication in most states), future bills may see more success.

One of the most recent phenomenons in distracted driving is “driving while texting”, which has even earned itself an acronym:  DWT.  DWT is believed to have caused a number of recent accidents and deaths.  Probably the most highly publicized incident was the deaths of five recent high-school graduates in New York who were killed when the driver swung into oncoming traffic, hit a tractor-trailer, and her vehicle burst into flames, killing all the occupants.  Investigators later found that the young driver’s cell-phone had been used to send and receive several text messages immediately prior to the accident.

 

The Virginia General Assembly recently shelved two proposed DWT bills, requesting that they receive further research in the Joint Commission on Technology and Science.  This move didn’t surprise many lawmakers, considering the amount of time it took to pass the under-18 cell-phone bill.  Advocates hope that the proposed bills, which would make it illegal to read, send, or receive text messages while driving, will be passed in the next General Assembly.

 

Even with recent attempts by lawmakers to make Virginia’s roads safer, bad drivers are still going to find ways to cause accidents.  If you are unfortunate enough to be involved in a serious auto accident, then Richard Serpe wants to help you.  The Serpe Firm is a Virginia based practice serving the Norfolk, Tidewater, Virginia Beach, and Richmond areas.  Contact us today and let us help you recover from the devastating effects of an auto accident and get you the compensation you deserve.

 

Law Offices of Richard J. Serpe, P.C.
580 East Main Street, Suite 310
Norfolk, VA 23510
Phone: 757-233-0009
Fax: 757-233-0455