According to a recent news feature from Fox 25 Boston, troopers from the Massachusetts States Police (MSP) have arrested a man who allegedly drove his car for over 20 miles in the wrong direction of Route 128, which is a fairly major state highway, while intoxicated.

wrong-way-sign-232552-mAuthorities say the call to 911 came in around three in the morning from a concerned motorist who told them there was a person who appeared to be drunk driving in the wrong direction of Route 128 in the Manchester by the Sea area just north of Boston.  When the troopers located the suspect driver, they attempted to pull him over, but they ended up having to follow him for miles. Continue reading

Despite what many people think, drinking and driving is not a crime.  It is perfectly legal for someone to have a beer and then get behind the wheel of a car and drive, so long as their blood alcohol content (BAC) is not at or above the legal limit of 0.08 or they are not otherwise intoxicated even at a lower limit.

mWkbC9MThe limit of 0.08 grams of ethanol (drinking alcohol) per hundred milliliters of blood was imposed in all states in 2000 through a federal law, even though the vast majority of states had already adopted the standard by that time.  However, some states still maintained their legal limit at 0.10, which is actually significantly higher that the current legal requirement, as 0.02 can have a major effect on one’s level of intoxication with respect to the ability to safely drive a motor vehicle. Continue reading

As you may recall, Melrose Place actress Amy Locane-Bovenizer was found guilty in connection with a fatal drunk driving accident that occurred in 2010 in New Jersey.  In that accident, there were multiple cars involved and a victim was killed.  During her trial, defendant attempted to blame another driver for the deadly results but did not deny that she was drunk driving at the time of the accident.

prison-1431136-mShe was eventually found not guilty of the lead charge of aggravated manslaughter, but she was found guilty of the lesser included offense of second degree vehicular homicide. Court records indicate that she was driving nearly 20 miles per hour over the posted limit and had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of around three times the legal limit of 0.08 grams of ethanol per 100 milliliters of blood.   Continue reading

These days, most people in Boston are familiar with Uber, Lyft, and possible other so-called ride sharing companies. For those that are not aware, you call for a ride on your smart phone via the company’s app and are told how long it will take for a driver to get to you.  You generally have a choice as to whether you want a black car similar to what people take to the airport for business trips or if you want a regular marked taxi, or a private vehicle driven by one of the company’s non-professional drivers.

barsignAs one might expect, this new business model makes licensed taxi drivers and other professional drivers and their respective employers very upset because it was costing them a lot of business.  They were also arguing that the new drivers did not need to pass official background checks or show a knowledge of the area and how to get to places around the city.  For example, many cab drivers are required to pass a map test whereas many Uber drivers clearly have no idea where they are going without assistance from the customer. Continue reading

According to a recent news feature from CBS Local Boston, a Revere man was charged in connection with a drunk driving accident that allegedly occurred at a roadside construction site.  What’s especially concerning about this situation is that there have been more than five accidents with injuries in construction zones in the Revere and Boston areas. What’s more, this is not the only one that involved a suspected drunk driver.

In fact, this motorist is the fourth drunk driving suspect that crashed in a Mass Department of Transportation (MassDOT) work site.

roadconstruction2We have seen construction workers injured and a police cruiser destroyed so far, and the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) are concerned, especially since they have a barracks right near the site of the construction on Revere Beach Boulevard. Continue reading

According to a recent news feature from the Gothamist, a New York Police Department (NYPD) Officer was driving his personal vehicle allegedly while drunk while off-duty when he ran onto the sidewalk and plowed into a group of pedestrians.  In total, the officer allegedly hit four people in total.

sig-40-and-badge-158060-m-300x225Authorities say the officer, 28-years-old, was driving his SUV when he hit the two male and two female pedestrians who were walking on the sidewalk at the time of this tragic drunk driving accident. According to a man who was working at a grocery store across the street from where the crash occurred, the driver was trying to back out of the area, but ended up crashing further into a building next to the where the pedestrians were. Continue reading

It was nearly 40 years ago that Doris Aiken sat in her kitchen and read with a broken heart the story of two teenagers, siblings, a 17-year-old girl and 19-year-old young man, who were killed by a 22-year-old drunk driver. She knew the teens distantly, but as a mother herself, she couldn’t help but feel a profound ache. As a journalist who hosted a local television program, she also sensed this was a story worth telling.beerbottles

But as she began delving further into this pressing social issue, she discovered the attitudes of police and local prosecutors were shockingly laissez-faire. When she sat down with the local district attorney to ask whether he would press for a severe sentence for the driver, his response astounded her.

He laughed. Then he answered that his office didn’t take away licenses or jail those who were arrested for drunk driving. He underscored that this was, after all, an accident. “He didn’t mean to do it,” the D.A. explained of the man with a blood-alcohol level of twice the legal limit and an open beer can between his knees. “He probably feels very bad about it.” The D.A. wouldn’t even return the calls of the mother of the two victims. Continue reading

A sports bar in Rockville, Maryland is slated to surrender its license and permanently shutter its doors after it allegedly over-served a customer who then got in a vehicle and crashed it, killing an on-duty police officer from Montgomery County. beergarden

Twenty-four-year-old Officer Noah Leotta had volunteered that night to work for a special holiday drunk driving patrol. He suffered severe injuries when the driver, Luis Gustavo Reluzco, side-swiped the cruiser on December 3, 2016 as he was in the middle of conducting a traffic stop. Leotta died a week later of his injuries. Reluzco, 47, has admitted he was downing beers and bourbon for approximately three hours before the crash. He later pleaded guilty to a single charge of vehicular manslaughter, and is awaiting sentencing. He could receive up to three years.

Now, according to NBC-4 Washington, business administrators for the establishment that served Reluzco alcohol that night, a Hooters franchise, have agreed to close their doors and forfeit their liquor license. As it stood, the Department of Liquor Control’s Board of License Commissioners had scheduled a hearing for this month to weigh evidence in consideration of revoking the license. The restaurant simply beat the board to the punch, as the case against it was strong.  Continue reading

Law enforcement in Massachusetts say driving under the influence is a growing problem in the state, particularly when it comes to the influence of illicit and prescription drugs. pillsbrownbottle

A recent analysis by FOX 25 WFXT reveals drugged driving violations have climbed 42 percent since 2011. That’s compared to a 26 percent hike in alcohol drunk driving arrests and citations issued during the same time frame.

Although thousands of residents in the Commonwealth are legally allowed to use marijuana, there is technically no legal limit for how much is too much. Part of that has to do with the fact that there is no form of accurate testing for the drug that will reveal impairment. Regular users may have higher levels of the drug in their system, even though they aren’t impaired. Just as easily, someone might be impaired despite having lower levels of THC (the active ingredient) in their system.  Continue reading

Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft have sailed in like a white horse, ready to save us all from the scourge of drunk driving injuries and deaths. At least, that’s the narrative these services are selling. Proof that it’s actually working, however, is conflicting. phone

Take, for example, the recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggests these serves have had little to on impact on the national overall rate of drunk driving accidents, injuries or deaths. Drunk driving fatalities have hung steadily at around 10,000 for many years, though they have dipped significantly since the 1970s and 1980s.

Uber broke out onto the scene in 2009 and has largely been popular in bigger cities, such as Boston. But unfortunately, as the study authors discovered, the rates of drunk driving in those locations hasn’t gone down. The reason, researchers say, has to do with the fact those who are impaired aren’t willing to pay for the expense of a ride.  Continue reading

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