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Let’s say you’ve had too much to drink, and you get into your car, put the key into the ignition and….the car won’t start:  the battery is dead.  About that time, an officer arrives and asks you to step out of the car for some field sobriety tests….

Is it possible to be convicted of attempting to drive under the influence?

The courts are not in agreement on whether there is such an offense as attempted drunk driving.  In Strong v. State, 87 S.W.3d 206, for example, a Texas court held there is not.  In People v. Garcia, 262 Cal. Rptr. 915, however, a California court said there was – but said also that it was "not unmindful that there might be some troublesome questions which will have to be resolved in later cases."

Troublesome questions?  The court didn’t explain that cryptic comment, but one that occurs to me is that  attempted DUI becomes a specific intent crime.  So what, you ask? 

Well, there are two kinds of offenses: those requiring only a general intent, and those requiring a specific intent.  Burglary, for example, is a specific intent crime: it requires entry with the intent to commit theft or a felony; without that intent, it is just a trespass.  DUI is a general intent crime: the prosecutor need only prove the act of driving under the influence – not the intent to do it. 

You can, of course, be convicted of attempting to commit a criminal offense.  But it follows that to attempt it you must intend to commit the offense: attempt requires a specific intent to commit the crime (along with steps toward its commission).  Thus, attempted DUI would become a specific intent crime.

So, while intoxication is not defense where there is only a general intent required, it can be a defense where specific intent must be proven:  intoxication can prevent the person from being able to knowingly and intelligently form the intent to accomplish the criminal act.

In other words, we may have a Catch-22:  If a person is mentally and physically too impaired to drive, doesn’t that fact tend to negate the specific intent required for an attempt to drive intoxicated? 

A "troublesome question"….
 

DUI BLOG

Each day, car accidents in Davie and across the state result in serious spinal cord injuries, fractures, head injuries, fatalities, and other injuries. Could the type of car determine how badly you are hurt in a traffic accident in Davie or your community? According to research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the answer is yes. IIHS representative Russ Rader said that some cars, especially sub-compact cars fare well on safety tests but in real life are more likely to result in insurance injury claims in the event of a car accident.

Rader noted that today’s smaller, lighter cars have more safety features and are safer than similar models of years past. Nevertheless, he says, in a collision, physics and weight matter more. In a collision between a smaller car and a larger car, the passengers in the larger car are more likely to enjoy more protection – including larger crumple zones – which protect them in the event of a crash.

According to Rader, in a head-on car accident, the larger car will push the smaller car back. This will reduce crash forces for occupants of the larger, heavier vehicle while increasing the crash forces for those in the smaller car. This is seen all the time in truck accidents in Davie and across the nation – smaller cars simply have no chance against much larger vehicles. Even in cases where the size and weight difference is not as extreme, the difference counts.

Research by Insure.com supports these findings. Insure.com recently compiled a list of safest cars based on rates of for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Medical Payments (MedPay). Cars with higher rates had the higher costs because more people were making injury claims with these cars in the event of an accident. Even in cases where a car had good safety ratings, it could still end up with higher real-life injury rates. According to Insure.com, the top five cars that fared best when it came to protecting passengers from injuries were generally larger models:

1. GMC Sierra 1500 (SLE, SLT and Work Truck)
2. Porsche Cayenne
3. GMC Yukon (Denali and SLT)
4. GMC Sierra 2500 SLE
5. GMC Terrain SLE1

The five cars that fared worst, according to Insure.com, tended to be smaller:

1. Fiat 500 (Lounge, CLounge, Sport, Pop and CPop)
2. Kia Rio 5 (LX and SX)
3. Toyota Corolla L
4. Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart
5. Mercedes-Benz CL600

No matter what kind of car you drive, safety experts agree that there is much that you can do to make your vehicle safer for you. For example, start by choosing a car that has good safety ratings and feels comfortable for you. Secondly, get required maintenance on the vehicle so that it responds as you expect it to. Make sure that you outfit your car with any extra safety devices you need. These may be an issue if you have health problems or mobility issues that prevent you from operating a car safely. And don’t forget the most important safety feature of all: your seat belt. You should always wear your seatbelt, even if you are going for a very short drive or just parking the car. Accidents can happen at any time.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

We are on our way to Virginia Beach to join with MADD Southside Virginia in honoring their law enforcement officers for their efforts to fight drunk driving. Clearly the Labor Day weekend traffic has begun. Our highway safety officials are warning us to Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. This symbolizes the last weekend of the summer when families frequently share the time together. The roads are jammed with cars filled with families.

We at MADD just want you to enjoy the time by planning a way home with a sober driver. My own daughter was killed when she was only 15, her life cut short before it began. Be sure no one you love has their life cut short by someone who chooses to drink and drive. Jan Withers….MADD President

Blog to Eliminate Drunk Driving

Oregon Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. Effort
in Full Force This Labor Day, Cracking Down on Drunk Driving

Eugene, OR (August 28, 2008)– Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Eugene Affiliate Office and Oregon law enforcement agencies announced today they will kick off a major drunk driving crackdown on Friday, August 29, as part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s national crackdown: Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.

In Oregon 455 people have died in traffic crashes in 2007. Of those fatalities, 150 people have been killed in alcohol impaired crashes in which the driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. Motorcyclists account for 16 of the 150 alcohol impaired crash fatalities. Debra Weaver, who lost her nephew Shawn Cummings the eve of Memorial Day weekend, May 27, 2006 when a drunk driver hit and killed him and his girlfriend Tamera Lewallen and their four year old daughter Jillian on Highway I-105, as they traveled to get ice cream, hopes that her story will serve as a reminder of what a terrible and life-altering decision drunk driving is. “We miss them so much; our hearts are aching and our lives are spinning. No one should ever have to go through this.”

Officer Evan Sether, Springfield Police Department’s designated DUII officer, was one of the first officers on scene for the fatal crash involving Debra Weaver’s family, “It had such a profound impact on me that it became my primary motivation towards stopping impaired drivers.” Officer Sether will continue his aggressive DUII enforcement working every night over the Labor Day weekend.

Oregon State Police plans to team up with the Lane County Sheriffs office in their saturation patrol efforts over the Labor Day weekend and are planning on using the department airplane over the parts of Saturday during the commute to and from the U of O game. “High visibility enforcement is a proven way to deter drunk drivers” said Lt. Mike Bloom from the Oregon State Police. “We will be out in force this Labor Day weekend using all of the tools and resources available to remind drivers: If you drive drunk, you will be arrested and subjected to the consequences. No exceptions. No excuses.”

For those stopped for drunk driving, the consequences faced do not end with the arrest. A convicted drunk driver can face fines, court and lawyer fees, a suspended license, an impounded car and, in a number of states, a period of time of alcohol ignition interlock use.

Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. combines the mobilization of thousands of law enforcement agencies in all 50 states with an million national advertising campaign. The increased attention produces results – highly publicized, highly visible, and frequent sobriety checkpoints reduce alcohol-related crashes and fatalities by up to 24 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“If we can prevent even one family from suffering as Debra’s has, we will have made a difference. Aggressive enforcement of drunk driving laws and interlocks for convicted drunk drivers reduce the number of injuries and deaths caused by drunk driving,” said Lois Harvick, MADD Eugene Affiliate Executive Director. “Together we can eliminate drunk driving in Oregon.”

MADD supports the Labor Day enforcement crackdown as one of its key initiatives under the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, which calls for increased high visibility enforcement, like the crackdowns; alcohol ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers; exploration and development of advanced technologies to one day make it impossible for a vehicle to be driven by someone that is drunk; and grassroots support for all of these efforts. The public is encouraged to report any suspected impaired driver by calling 911 or 1-800-24DRUNK.

Studies show that alcohol ignition interlocks reduce repeat drunk driving by an average of 65 percent. If all states required alcohol ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers, we could save up to 4,000 lives a year.

NHTSA’s national crackdown is conducted in partnership with MADD, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

MADD’s mission is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. MADD is a 501 (c) (3) charity with 2 million members and supporters nationwide. Founded in 1980, MADD has helped save more than 358,000 lives. For more information, visit www.madd.org. or www.maddeugene.org and www.maddpdx.org

MADD Oregon News