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Florida drunk driving accidents are a highly preventable cause of injuries and fatalities year round, but there are certain hazards that make drunk driving even more of a menace during the summer:

1) Summer holidays. College kids are home from school and the summer is filled with long weekends and holidays, leading to parties where alcohol is served. Many police departments set up road checks and sobriety checks during holidays, knowing that more people choose to drink and drive during holiday weekends.

2) Summer barbecues and cookouts. Summer is a time for having a beer by the lake or a few cold ones with a barbecue. Unfortunately, Florida car accidents sometimes happen when someone decides to drive after drinking. In many cases, the driver is not even aware that they are over the legal limit because they have only had a small amount of alcohol. It’s best to avoid driving even if you have had only one or two drinks.

3) More cars on the road. During the summer, there are more cars on Florida’s roads. Tourists arrive for the season, more parents are shuttling children to summer events, and students home from college are driving on the roads as well. More crowded roads and drinking and driving are a terrible mix, making a car accident more likely.

4) Heat and sunlight. Bright light and heat enhance the soporific effects of alcohol, making it even more likely that someone who has been drinking will fall asleep or have trouble concentrating behind the wheel. For this reason, it is very important to avoid driving, even if you have had only a small number of drinks.

5) Cabins and vacation homes. At this time of year, many people open their cottages, cabins, and vacation homes for entertainment. When alcohol is served at these parties, it can be a problem, as vacation homes are often far from public transit or taxi stands, making it hard to get home safely after drinking. For this reason, it is important to have a plan in place ahead of time to get home safely.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Summer can mean more distractions and therefore more Florida car accidents. There are many causes for distraction in the summer months:

1) A busier schedule. While the dog days of summer are meant to be a more relaxing time, for many people they are anything but. There are children’s camp activities and summer plans, a busier social life, wedding season, and many more distractions. A hectic schedule in the summer months can mean being emotionally distracted and unable to focus. It can also mean sleepless nights, late nights, and cell phones ringing while you are trying to drive. To avoid an accident, consider slowing down your schedule where possible and make a good effort to get a good night’s sleep.

2) More bustle on the streets. The streets are busier during the summer months, as visitors and local families take advantage of Florida’s green spaces, attractions, and beautiful weather. As well, many municipalities introduce special street events, live street entertainments, and billboards to attract visitors. These can all distract drivers and can cause other drivers on the road to rubberneck, as well.

3) More drivers. There tend to be more drivers on the roads during the summer, thanks to no school and thanks to the visitors who visit the state. Extra drivers and cars on the road can mean traffic, aggressive driving, and a higher risk of Florida car accidents due to the congestion on the roads.

4) Road work. Another contributor to congestion, road work is distracting because it can be hard to resist a peek at a new construction or a new project. However, it is important to stay focused on driving and to slow down in these construction areas.

5) Passengers. Whether you are ferrying the kids to summer activities or going on a family road trip, you are likely to have more passengers in your car more often during the summer months. Passengers can easily distract you with chatting and by pointing out sights on the road. Try to keep passengers quiet by having them check a map or do something else for you while you drive.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Fatigued driving is a major cause of Florida truck accidents and car accidents. Fatigue can be an especial problem in the summer because:

1) The summer sun can be bad for proper rest and sleep. Since the days are longer in the summer, you may naturally be getting less sleep. If your bedroom is filled with sunlight in the morning, you may be waking up much earlier than you need to – especially if you are a night owl. Consider investing in dark, heavy curtains to keep out the sun in the mornings in order to get a restful sleep.

2) Late nights. The summer is often filled with social events, parties, and holidays, which can mean lots of late nights. When planning your social calendar, plan to get home safely from each event if you have been drinking. Planning well ahead is one of the best ways to avoid Florida drunk driving accidents. As well, try to get rest during the day when you know you will be up late. If you feel too tired to drive, take your body’s cues seriously and take a nap or call a cab rather than getting behind the wheel.

3) It can be difficult to sleep in the heat. Summer nights can make restful sleep difficult. Hot, dry nights can be uncomfortable and in many places insects can also be an issue. To combat the issue, use a humidifier and a fan or air conditioner to create a pleasant sleeping environment. Add a good-quality screen to your window and a mosquito net to your bed to ensure that insects do not disturb your rest.

4) Heat and light during the day can make it hard to drive. Even if you are rested, hot and sunny days can give you a headache and make you feel exhausted. Heat exhaustion and sun stroke can make it impossible to drive and even simple dehydration can make it difficult to stay alert and focused. Make sure to keep hydrated and wear a hat and sunscreen to protect yourself from the sun.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Ok, I’ve posted ad nauseum about how breathalyzers are inaccurate and unreliable.  See, for example, How Breathalyzers Work (and Why They Don’t.  And I’ve printed numerous articles in recent months about massive failures of the machines across the country, leading to questions concerning the wrongful convictions of hundreds of citizens.  See, for example, Attorney General Finds Widespread Breathalyzers; Police Shut Down All Machines (2 months ago),  Inaccurate Breathalyzers Cast Doubt on 1,147 DUI Cases in Philadelphia (just over a month ago),  More Defective Breathalyzers (hundreds of convictions in Ventura, CA – 2 weeks ago),  400 Wrongly Convicted in Washington: Faulty Breathalyzers.   

If you still think they were aberrations, read today’s news:
 

Santa Clara County DA Reviewing 865 San Jose DUI Cases After Breathalyzers Deemed Faulty 

San Jose, CA.  May 4 — A faulty breathalyzer used by San Jose police to arrest 865 DUI suspects could lead to drivers walking free — even if they were drunk behind the wheel, authorities revealed Tuesday.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said it would undertake a special monthlong review to determine how many of the cases it would drop because San Jose police officers used the Alco-Sensor V breathalyzer as part of their field sobriety tests. The breathalyzers — one of the methods used by officers to determine whether to arrest DUI suspects — may have shown incorrect readings because of a manufacturer’s error that can cause condensation to build up in the tube…

San Jose officers had been using the device exclusively since November but stopped Friday after discovering the tests are not reliable. County crime lab officials, prosecutors and police began looking into the breathalyzers after discovering that Ventura County authorities began reviewing hundreds of similar cases more than a week ago.

An unknown amount of DUI cases in Palo Alto, where officers have been using the device since April 2010, could also be affected. The San Mateo County DA was not expected to know until Wednesday whether any cases there were suspect…

San Jose police said all 60 breathalyzers its officers used in the past five months were the defective Alco-Sensor V’s, until they sent them back to the manufacturer on Friday night. The department received a shipment of 30 older, nondefective models from the same company Saturday morning and has been using them since.

The company that makes the gray and yellow instruments, St. Louis-based Intoximeters, says on its website that the breathalyzer was approved by the U.S. government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
 

Still confident that the breathalyzers used in your city are accurate?  Accurate enough to convict your fellow citizens — beyond a reasonable doubt? 
 

DUI BLOG

I’ve posted repeatedly in the past about the inaccuracies and unreliability of breath-alcohol testing machines.  See, for example, How Breathalyzers Work (and Why They Don’t), Why Breathalyzers Don’t Measure Alcohol and Report: Breathalyzers Outdated, Unstable, Unreliable.  

And news stories of massive breathalyzer failures keep rising to the surface. For a few recent examples, see Attorney General Finds Widespread Breathalyzer Inaccuracies; Police Shut Down All Machines (two months ago), Inaccurate Breathalyzers Cast Doubt on 1,147 DUI Cases in Philadelphia (less than one month ago), and 400 Wrongly Convicted in Washington: Faulty Breathalyzers (last year).      

And two days ago: 

Defective Breathalyzers Could Lead to Tossing Out Hundreds of DUI Convictions

Ventura, CA. April 19 – Hundreds of drunken driving convictions in Ventura County could be tossed out because a defect in some of the handheld Breathalyzer machines purchased earlier this year is causing inaccurate blood-alcohol readings.

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office has sent memos to local attorneys saying that eight Intoximeter Alco-Sensor V breathalyzers have shown "erratic results" in blood-alcohol tests taken between Jan. 20 and March 31, according to Kevin Drescher, the supervising attorney with the felony unit.

The county purchased 128 of the devices, paying about ,800 for each one.

Drescher said he didn’t know how many people charged with DUI were tested with the Alco-Sensor V during that time…

The District Attorney’s Office sent the memo to the Public Defender’s Office on April 15, said Chief Deputy Public Defender Monica Cummins. She said about 160 clients who were either convicted of drunken driving during this time, or have DUI cases pending, will be contacted by the office…

Cummins said the Public Defender’s Office will move to have the convictions dismissed in cases where there may have been blood-alcohol errors. But some people who were found guilty or pleaded guilty as a result of these false readings have already served jail time, paid thousands of dollars in fines and have done community service as part of the conviction, Cummins noted.

Also, harsher penalties are meted out to motorists who blow a .15 percent blood-alcohol level, said Cummins. In California, a blood-alcohol reading of .08 is considered the benchmark for being legally intoxicated.

"Truthfully, there is a whole cornucopia of problems that will likely arise," she said.The Alco Sensor V is manufactured by Intoximeters, Inc. of St. Louis, Mo.

According to the company’s website, "The ASV provides a simple, economical method of determining a subject’s breath alcohol concentration with evidential grade accuracy."

Company officials didn’t return calls.

Remember: these are just cases where the problems have been detected — and discovered by the media.  Do you really think that the thousands of other breathalyzers across the country are reliable?

It is a crime to drive a vehicle with a blood-alcohol level of .08% or higher — as measured by one of these fallible machines.  And how do you cross-examine a machine?  Yet in today’s "trial by machine", the reading alone is sufficient to find an accused guilty — beyond a reasonable doubt.  

Law once again trumps science…

(Thanks to Lane Scherer, an attorney in my law firm.)
 

DUI BLOG

While getting that driver’s license for the first time is a thrill and a sign of freedom for most teen drivers, there is mounting evidence that some drivers are abusing their driving privileges and using their cars to perform stunts that can easily lead to Florida pedestrian accidents and car accidents. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 70% of participants in car stunts are young male drivers and the number of accidents resulting from vehicle stunts seems to be growing. The most popular stunts include:

1) Car surfing. In this stunt, a passenger rides on top of the car, on the running boards, or on the bumper while the car is in motion. In some cases, someone hangs outside of the vehicle while the car is driving. Some drivers speed up or go at increasingly higher speeds while car surfing. According to the CDC, car surfing alone has resulted in almost 100 fatalities. Those who “surf” on cars can easily lose their grip and fall onto the road or crash into overhanging branches or other objects.

2) Ghost riding. In this stunt, a passenger dances or stands on the outside of the car while a driver drives the vehicle, often at increasing speeds. This stunt is dangerous because the person on the exterior can easily lose their balance and fall off. It’s a simple way to become a Florida spinal cord injury patient and a simple way to sustain fatal injuries.

3) Skitching. This stunt mimics windsurfing: while the vehicle is in motion a passenger uses a rope or some other means to be dragged along behind the car on roller skates, roller blades, skateboard, or scooter. This can easily lead to collisions and pedestrian accidents if the person behind the car swings out of control. As well, the person behind the car can easily lose their grip or fall under a vehicle.

While these stunts are no doubt meant to be innocent fun, they are anything but. They can cause serious injuries and death. They can also lead to serious charges against any driver who partakes in such activities. Unfortunately, these stunts are often popularized on YouTube and other social media websites, making them seem fun for young drivers.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Law enforcement was out in full force last week during a statewide St. Patrick’s Day “Booze it and Lose it” campaign. The “Booze it and Lose It” campaign ran between March, 11 and 17. According to Department of Transportation statistics more than 1000 North Carolina DWI citations were issued. The North Carolina DOT says that state and local law enforcement agencies conducted 662 sobriety checkpoints during the campaign and utilized a total of 1956 saturation patrols across the state.

In addition to the 1,013 DWI cases, law enforcement across North Carolina issued 32,579 traffic and criminal citations during the stepped-up enforcement campaign. The week long campaign was part of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program campaign.

In Pitt County, law enforcement set up a total of four checkpoints during the campaign and used 28 saturation patrols. Pitt County law enforcement brought a total of 15 DWI related charges. Thirteen of the cases were brought against people who are age 21 or over. Two of the cases that arose during the “Booze it or Lose it” campaign in Pitt County were brought against drivers under the age of 21.

An underage DWI in North Carolina can be brought based upon any evidence of alcohol. An adult DWI requires either evidence of impairment or an alcohol content measurement of .08 or greater. Any measurable amount of alcohol in a driver under age 21 is sufficient for law enforcement to bring an underage DWI charge in the state.

North Carolina’s most populous counties saw the highest number of DWI related charges issued during the week. Mecklenburg County topped the list with 124 DWI charges filed.

Source: WECT, “Booze it & Lose it campaign yields more than 1,000 DWI citations,” 24 Mar 2011

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

A local news station in Lee County, Florida recently ran an investigative series into Florida drunk driving accidents and DUI incidents. Reporters found that in many cases drivers caught on DUI charges are getting their licenses back and are being allowed to drive again quickly after being ticketed for DUI.

Under Florida law, drivers who have been accused of DUI are allowed to have an administrative hearing with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. This hearing occurs before the DUI trial and allows the defendants to argue for their license. While Florida law allows officers to immediately take away the license of someone who is accused of DUI, these hearings, according to investigative reporters, gave back licenses to hundreds of people in Southern Florida in just a three month period.

Someone who is accused of driving under the influence has ten days to request an administrative hearing. At the hearing, officers decide whether to invalidate the license suspension and return the driver’s license. According to investigative reports, in 2009 more than 5200 drivers in Florida received their licenses back due to these hearings. In some cases, drivers had been impaired and had been unable to pass a breathalyzer test but had their licenses reinstates because police officers failed to follow testing standards or guidelines when administering the tests.

In some cases, arresting officers did not appear at the administrative hearings, which also allowed the drivers to have their licenses reinstated. Florida is changing that particular law. After July 2010, a driver does not automatically have his or her license reinstated if the arresting officer does not show up at a DMV administrative hearing. As well, police authorities are cracking down on police officers who fail to show up for the hearings.

The investigative report does suggest the importance of good communication between the DMV and authorities. While DMV administrative hearings do not have a bearing on criminal DUI trials – that is, someone who has a license reinstated at a DMV hearing may still be found guilty at a criminal DUI trial – the case is troubling for motorists. This is because it does suggest that drivers who may cause Florida car accidents due to DUI may be back on the roads – legally – after drinking and driving. The DMV hearings are intended to give drivers a fair chance to get their licenses back but more studies need to be done to determine whether reinstatements are leading to more Florida car accidents.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

In Florida, there is no ban on using cell phones and driving. Even so, many drivers are switching to phone applications which allow them to text hands-free. The applications read back text messages and allow drivers to deliver text messages by speaking their messages and then converting the audio file into text. However, police are worried that these phone applications may give drivers only the illusion of greater safety.

Police in Florida and across the country are worried about distracted driving. Distracted driving has been shown to decrease response times and cause accidents. In fact, many experts equate distracted driving accidents with Florida drunk driving accidents – both distracted drivers and drunk drivers are dangerous because they have poor motor skills and cannot focus on the road in a safe manner.

Cell phones are considered a key distraction, because during texting drivers must avert their eyes from the road for several seconds at a time – more than enough time to cause a serious Florida pedestrian accident or traffic accident. There are now five apps on the market which can covert texts into voicemail and spoken messages into texts. The apps are legal in every state because they do not require a driver to hold their device while driving. However, experts worry that the apps are just another way for distracted drivers to drive distracted.

Customers have responded well to the apps, some claiming that they have no time to pull over to send a text or place a call. Some also say that the apps are a more realistic option for distracted driving. Indeed, many polls and studies seem to suggest that some drivers will continue to try to text and drive or talk and drive. The apps at least ensure that their eyes stay on the road and their hands stay on the wheel as they do so.

However, police officers and other experts say that distracted driving is more about the mind than it is about just the hands and eyes. Even with a handless device, drivers can easily become distracted by their phone conversations or text messages and can still easily cause an accident. Some even worry that the new technology itself may be a distraction to drivers.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

A survey of 11th- and 12th-grade students finds that 90 percent believe that their peers are more likely to drink and drive on prom night, but few think that the behavior carries a high degree of risk, USA Today reported April 9.

The survey of more than 2,500 students, conducted by Liberty Mutual and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), found that 79 percent of students expected their classmates to drink and drive on graduation night. More than one in three students also said their parents had let them attend a party knowing that alcohol would be served.

“Newspapers, television, YouTube and Facebook are rife with tales of tragedy from reckless driving on prom and graduation nights, yet an ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude continues to be so pervasive among our teens,” said Dave Melton of the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety. “Add to the alcohol factor distractions like texting or talking on the cellphone while driving, or the greater likelihood of multiple people in the car, and the crash potential is very real.”

 
Young Female Drinkers More Likely to Develop Breast Disease, Researchers Say

Risk of developing benign breast disease increases five-fold among women who drank alcohol six or seven days a week during their teens and early 20s, according to research from the National Cancer Institute.

Benign breast disease is a known risk factor for breast cancer, researchers noted. Symptoms include hard lumps in the breasts, irregular cysts, breast discomfort, sensitive nipples, and itching.

Reuters reported April 12 that researcher Catherine Berkey of Harvard Medical School and colleagues drew their conclusions from a study of about 6,900 women ages 16-23. About one percent of the women reported having benign breast disease in a followup study at ages 18-27.

“Our study results give older girls and adolescents another reason to avoid alcohol,” said Berkey.

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Mothers Against Drunk Driving (Orange County)