A Boston man was recently arrested for his third drunken driving offense during an impaired driving patrol. The 34-year-old man was arrested shortly after 11:00 p.m. on Fruit Street in Bridgewater. He was stopped after officers witnessed him driving erratically, according to Enterprise News.
He was arrested and charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating under the influence (third offense) and various marked lane violations.
Our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers understand that about a third of the drunk driving problem – arrests, accidents, deaths, and injuries – comes from repeat offenders. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Americans take more than 233 billion trips in cars each and every year. About one of out of every 2,000 of these trips is taken by someone who is under the influence of alcohol. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but you can tell how big of a problem it is when we tell you that about a third of all traffic fatalities are the result of a drunk driving accident.
Every 53 minutes, on average, there is someone killed in these kinds of accidents. In 2011, there were close to 10,000 killed in drunk driving crashes. Every 90 seconds, someone is injured in these accidents — a completely preventable accident.
At any given moment in time, there’s roughly 2 million people out there on our roadways who have three of more drunk driving charges against them. You’d probably thing that taking away their driver’s license and their privilege to drive would be the answer, but it’s not. Close to 75 percent of these individuals get behind the wheel and drive anyway. This is why ignition interlocks are so critical in the fight against drunk driving.
The state of Massachusetts had more than 11,000 drunk driving arrests and several hundred alcohol related automobile deaths in 2008. Most of these happened because, license or not, people have to get to work and virtually nothing stops then from driving to where they need (or want) to be. This is why ignition interlock devices (IIDs) are so important. With an ignition interlock installed, DWI offenders can maintain employment, attend school, get treatment, and take care of family obligations–yet are prevented from driving if alcohol has been used.
Here, we require offenders who have had more than 1 drunk driving conviction to install an IID on their vehicles. They have to use these devices for 2 years so that they can get their driver’s license back.
And these devices aren’t cheap. First, there’s a monthly rental fee. This fee ranges from $50 to $100. You’re also going to be responsible for maintenance expenses as well as fees for downloading the data from the ignition interlock device. They’re time-consuming too. You’re going to have to come in for scheduled appointments to have your ignition interlock device calibrated, or to have the records downloaded and the device reset so that you can keep driving, so free up your schedule.
If you or a loved one was involved in a drunk driving accident in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
More Blog Entries:
Intoxicated Pedestrian Fatalities Rising Nationwide, Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog, August 14, 2013
Designated Driver Blamed for Drunk Driving Accident in Norfolk, Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog, August 12, 2013