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There is a lot of press coverage about Coral Gables car accidents and Florida car collisions caused by distracted driving, but a new study from the Society of Automotive Engineers suggests that incorrect use of turn signals causes many more traffic accidents each year – up to 2 million accidents nationally each year.

According to the study, drivers either fail to turn their signals off or completely neglect using the signals when changing lanes 48% of the time. Researchers also found that drivers do not use signals correctly 25% of the time when making a turn. This means that drivers on US roads fail to use turn signals correctly 750 billion times each year – or about 2 billion times each year. This results it about 2 million accidents, while distracted driving is linked to 950 000 collisions each year.

While drivers are required to use turn signals, the lack of compliance shown in the study is a serious concern. Significantly, this is the first time that the problem has been studied by researchers and experts at the Society of Automotive Engineers hope that the study’s findings will result in more awareness of the problem. Using turn signals correctly is vital in preventing Coral Gables truck accidents and traffic accidents across the country.

While no studies have been done to determine how much police focus on enforcement of lack of turn signals, researchers believe that there is less focus on incorrect use of turn signals, when compared with red light running and other traffic violations. Researchers at the Society of Automotive Engineers do believe that in addition to more enforcement, technology may be able to help with the problem. Devices that can turn off signals automatically after a driver changes lane, for example, might be able to help. Devices that remind drivers to turn on their signals when they fail to do so could also possibly help drivers become more aware of the problem and more likely to eventually start using turn signals consistently. The Smart Turn Signal system is already available and is getting some approval from experts. However, making the device standard in vehicles may still be far off into the future.

In the meantime, there are several things that drivers can do to help avoid Coral Gables traffic accidents. Being aware of turn signal use and using turn signals correctly is a good place to start. Helping to raise awareness about the importance of turn signals is another important step. Using turn signals is vital in ensuring that other drivers know your intentions.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

If you’ve visited a college bar on a Friday evening, you may have seen a man drowning his sorrows after being rejected by one of his fellow co-eds. A recent study on fruit flies the University of San Francisco proves that ordering another beer may be more than a social norm.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on the study,

Male fruit flies, rejected in their attempts to mate, turn to alcohol-soaked food, researchers reported today in the journal Science. Scientists think the discovery, along with evidence that the behavior seems to be driven by a small molecule in the brain, may open a window onto the self-destructive actions of alcoholics and drug addicts.

If the brain is triggered to prefer alcohol in tense situations, this is all the more reason why parents and other responsible adults need to have the opportunity to help young people learn how to handle alcohol responsibly.

Choose Responsibility Blog

Is it possible to be an accomplice to drunk driving – that is, to be convicted of “aiding and abetting” a person who was driving under the influence of alcohol?

In one case in Maine, two men were drinking together in a bar.  When they left, the owner of the car had his friend drive since the friend was less intoxicated.  The two were stopped by the police, and the owner/passenger was taken to a police station — where he refused to take a breath test because he said he had not been driving.  He was subsequently charged with operating or attempting to operate a motor vehicle under the influence.  At trial, the jury found him guilty as both a principal and an accomplice. 

On appeal, the court held that the accomplice statute applied to drunk driving offenses, and that the evidence was sufficient for a jury to find both the intent and the solicitation necessary for accomplice liability.  The defendant, said the court, had the specific intent to enlist his accomplice/friend in driving under the influence.  State v. Stratton, 591 A.2d 246 (Me. 1991). 

How far can this go?  Can you be guilty of letting a friend drive while intoxicated?

The majority rule in American courts today is that any passenger, including the owner, can be held criminally liable as an aider/abettor in the commission of the offense of DUI.  Nor is there any requirement that the accomplice be a passenger in the vehicle.  In Guzman v. State, 586 S.E.2d 59 (Ga. App. 2003), for example, the defendant was convicted of two counts of vehicular homicide when he allowed a 14-year-old to drive his bother and a friend in the defendant’s vehicle after having given beer to the boys.  His criminal intent was inferred by his conduct in giving the driver alcohol and the car keys, then standing silently by as the 14-year-old got behind the wheel and drive away.

Note:  Drunk driving is a general intent crime — that is, it doesn’t require proof of an intent to drive under the influence.  Accomplice liability ("aiding and abetting"), on the other hand, is a specific intent offense — it requires proof of an intent to assist the commission of a crime.  Query:  Assuming the validity of an accomplice theory, could not the accomplice’s own intoxication degate the specific intent required to be an accomplice?
 

DUI BLOG