Articles Posted in Drunk Driving in Massachusetts

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Back in season two of American Idol, Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard and Rick Smith were all part of the final eight contestants hoping to win the singing competition and reality show, back when the show was very popular.  While Smith did not win the contest that year, he did gain a great deal of fame and got started on his music career.rosemusic

Sadly, it was reported Smith was recently killed by an alleged drunk driver. That’s according to a recent news feature from ET Online.  Authorities have said Smith was in Oklahoma when he was involved in a wrong-way vehicle crash on Interstate 240.  The accident occurred around 3 a.m. when a GMC pickup truck heading in the wrong direction on the highway slammed into Smith’s Honda Accord. Continue reading

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One of the big issues that has made its way to the United States Supreme Court is whether a driver can be charged with a crime for refusing to submit to an alcohol breath test when asked by police upon a showing of probable cause that the driver is under the influence of alcohol.

1316049_untitled-300x200Essentially, in some states such as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a driver has the right to decline a breath alcohol test (generically called a Breathalyzer), and this refusal cannot be used against the defendant in a court of law.  Continue reading

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There are currently many companies working to develop a self-driving or driverless car these days.  Some companies like Tesla are working to create not only the self-driving software and hardware, but also the car itself.  Supposedly, they will soon be offering a free trial of a software package that allows their already existing fully electric cars to become a self-driving vehicle.

shot-glass-1032719-mOther companies such as Google are working to develop the self-driving systems and then want to license or sell their technology to car companies, since the company is not interested in designing the vehicles themselves.  Knowing the past track record of Google products, it is likely they will be successful.  Continue reading

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Massachusetts DUI charges have been lodged against a one-time “Principle of the Year,” who is at the helm of a middle school.sad2

The arrest has made national news, and the accused has been placed on administrative leave by the superintendent at Dedham.

She was reportedly stopped by police one weekend night in early April and accused of driving impaired. She had not been involved in a DUI accident and there were no injuries reported.  It appears though authorities may have stopped her just in time. An off-duty officer in Weston alleged he spotted the suspect driving “all over the road” along Interstate 95. He said he watched as she nearly crashed her vehicle four different times. He followed her and called 911.  Continue reading

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There is no question that many come to a NASCAR track to see the crashes.  However, we are normally talking about crashes that occur during the race, and as far as NASCAR tracks go, the Daytona International Speedway has had its fair share of famous crashes.  According to a recent news feature from ABC News Boston, four people were injured during the latest crash at the famous motor speedway, except this crash involved several mobile homes in infield camping area.

beersAuthorities say several motor homes and cars were seriously damaged and four people were injured when a 43-year-old Florida woman allegedly drove her pickup truck while intoxicated and crashed it into five campers and four people during a motocross event being hosted at the track. Continue reading

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When we put our kids on the school bus each morning and wait for them to arrive home on the bus each afternoon, we generally do not give much thought to whether or not the bus driver will be sober while driving his or her route.  The reason for this is that we assume the school board or contracted bus company will its do its job and make sure to hire well-trained competent drivers, and we assume the drivers will not put the lives of dozens of children at risk by drinking and driving a school bus.

school-rules-1141363-mUnfortunately, according to the allegations in a recent news feature from CBS Boston, this is not an assumption we can always make.  Authorities report they were called to Tantasqua Junior High School around two in the afternoon this past week.  They were first told it was a medical emergency, and they dispatched paramedics to the school. Continue reading

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According to a recent news report from the Boston Globe, a total of six people were injured in what is alleged to be a drunk driving crash that occurred in Bourne, Massachusetts. Authorities believe that there were several factors that led to five of the six victims being severely injured, including alcohol, speeding, and inclement weather. Police also alleged the 18-year-old at-fault driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of what they are classifying as a mass casualty accident.

mmsIFfoWitnesses say a Toyota Camry containing five, underage male occupants from the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts was traveling at a speed that was not safe for the snowy weather.  As they were driving down Route 6, police believe the driver of the Camry lost control of his vehicle while trying to navigate a sharp turn.  At this point, he crossed over into the lane of oncoming traffic and crashed into a Toyota Corolla.    Continue reading

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In what is a strange but common scene in the greater Boston area, a man is lying in his hospital bed as a defense attorney, court clerk, and even a judge in a full black robe, conduct an arraignment.  An arraignment, also known as first session in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the first court hearing for a defendant in misdemeanor and most felony cases.  This is where there is a formal reading of the charges, and the judge decides if the defendant will be held on bail or released.

1316049_untitled-300x200While it seems strange to hold court and do an arraignment in a hospital room, the actual reason for this has to do with departments not wanting to spend money that they don’t have. When a defendant is arrested, before he or she is arraigned, the police must maintain custody unless a judge or bail commission conducts an initial arraignment.  This means that police must post officers outside of the defendant’s hospital room 24 hours a day until the arraignment occurs.  Once defendant is arraigned, custody transfers to the bail officers during court and then to the county sheriff.  The police complain about paying overtime, so they get the courts to come to the hospital. Continue reading

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To the victims of a drunk driving accident, and the victims’ families, being involving in the accident can have long lasting consequences.  It is hard to quantify how each victim’s life is changed and how deeply a family can be hurt by the irresponsible actions of those who decide to drink to the point of intoxication before getting behind the wheel.

sig-40-and-badge-158060-m-300x225While is difficult to look at drunk driving in terms of number of incidents and accidents, funding for campaigns to curb drunk driving in Massachusetts often come down to a numbers game, so, to that end, the Hingham Patch has recently published a report from the Hingham, Massachusetts Police Department detailing their drunk driving arrest numbers for last year. Continue reading

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Across the nation, authorities are trying everything reasonable and within their power to reduce the number of serious and sometimes fatal drunk driving accidents that occur each year. To get an idea of how serious a problem drunk driving in America is, we can look to statistics to show there were more Americans killed in drunk driving accidents than were killed in all wars in which the United States was involved.

beersThese campaigns have different names, such as drive hammered, get nailed, or sober or slammer. A drive sober or get pulled over campaign has been used in Bedford, Massachusetts, according a recent news feature from the Bedford Patch. The most recent campaign was run from early December of last year to January 2, 2016. This time frame was obviously chosen to cover the entire holiday season, which, as statistics have shown, is one of the worst times of year in terms of serious drunk driving accidents, including fatal car crashes. Continue reading

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