Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog

As school ends, prom and graduation celebrations occur and kids have time off to relax.

Unfortunately, it’s also a time when teens are most at risk. The period between Memorial Day and Labor Day has been called the “100 Deadliest Days” for teen drivers. This period of time coincides with holidays and other celebrations and the number of teen fatalities in car accidents are higher during these days than at any other time over the course of the year.

Our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers know that there are a lot of reasons why there are so many fatalities during the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer. One of the top reasons, however, is drunk driving. When teens take the chance and drive while they are intoxicated, they put themselves and others at very serious risk of being injured or killed in an auto accident.

The 100 Deadliest Days of Summer

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, teens are more likely to be on the road during the summer months than at any other time. The 100 Deadliest Days of Summer correspond perfectly with the summer vacations for most high schools and colleges and kids have a lot of free time during these days. In many cases, this free time is unsupervised since parents work and kids are left alone during the day.

Unfortunately, teens often spend their free time getting into trouble, and part of that trouble includes drinking and driving. Teens are much more likely to drink and drive during events like prom and graduation than they are at other times of the year, but these aren’t the only risky days for young drivers. In fact, the seven most dangerous days on the road for teen drivers during the summer include:

• May 20
• May 23
• June 10
• July 4
• July 9
• August 8 and
• August 14

Mothers Against Drunk Driving reports that teen car accident deaths are most likely to occur on these days, which have helped to earn the Memorial Day-to-Labor Day period the designation as the 100 Deadliest Days.

In general, however, significantly more teens die during the May to August period than at any other time of the year. In fact, while an average of 346 teen car accident deaths occur during the non-summer months, the number of fatal accidents involving teens goes up to 399 deaths on average during May, June, July and August. This is a significant increase, especially since even one teen car accident death is a terrible tragedy.

Helping Kids to Stay Safe

Parents don’t have to just accept this higher risk of teen car accident deaths, despite the fact that the summer is undeniably more dangerous. If you are a parent, you should talk to your teen and set rules and guidelines to help keep your son or daughter safe during this deadly driving time. Some options to help reduce the risk of teen car accident deaths that MADD recommends include:

• Limiting the number of passengers in the car with your teen.
• Eliminating trips in the car that have no purpose.
• Having a parent/teen driving agreement outlining acceptable behavior in writing.
• Restricting driving at night time.
• Enrolling teens in summer driving school.
• Making sure your son or daughter knows you are available to provide a ride, no questions asked, at any time.

If parents follow these tips, they can help to ensure that their kids have the best chance of staying safe and making it through the 100 Deadliest Driving Days unscathed.
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If the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has its way, the legal BAC limit in the U.S. will no longer by .08 percent. According to NBC NEWS, officials are trying to drop the legal threshold to .05 percent.

What officials are trying to do is to get states to lower that BAC. They say that a .05 BAC still is at a level in which a driver’s vision can be affected and the risks for an accident can be drastically increased. With a lower legal BAC, officials say that drivers will be less likely to get behind the wheel because there is more of a chance of them exceeding that limit. Others argue that this new lowering is going to do nothing to stop the hardcore drunk drivers — the ones who seemingly have no regard for the law.

Our Boston drunk driving injury lawyers understand that no driver should consume any amount of alcohol and get behind the wheel. With each and every sip, your risks for an accident skyrocket. And it’s these kinds of accidents that take the lives of close to 10,000 people every year, also injuring more than 150,000 motorists. These are all completely avoidable, too. Yes, that’s a huge improvement from the 20,000 or so that were killed in these kinds of accidents 30 years ago, but it’s still a huge problem.

According to recent studies, about 4 million people say that they’ve driven under the influence of alcohol. And those are only the ones who openly admitted to it in a survey. Some say that the true number is much higher.

The recommendation for lowering the BAC level isn’t sitting well with everyone — especially those with restaurant trade groups. They’re arguing that drivers’ behavior would criminalize what they believe is perfectly responsible behavior, almost taking our rights away to have a few brews after work and drive home.

“Further restricting the moderate consumption of alcohol by responsible adults prior to driving does nothing to stop hardcore drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel,” said American Beverage Institute’s managing director, Sarah Longwell.

The U.S. is only one among a small number of countries that has kept the BAC level at .08 percent. Most countries are already operating under a .05 percent maximum law.

When Australia decided to make the move and drop the level from .08 to .05, officials reported a near 20 percent drop in the number of traffic fatalities.

But will it help here in the U.S. and more importantly here in Massachusetts?

According to the latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were close to 150 people killed in alcohol-related traffic accidents in 2011. These kinds of accidents accounted for roughly 40 percent of all traffic accidents fatalities throughout the year.

Officials with the NTSB hope that a lower legal BAC limit would help to deter intoxicated people from getting behind the wheel.
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Drivers in Stoughton were not on their best behavior over the weekend. If you take a look at the Stoughton Patch and check out some of the police reports, you’ll see that officers in the area did quite a job in busting drunk drivers.

On April 28th, a driver was involved in a two-car accident and busted for operating under the influence and following too close and another driver was busted for the same thing after a routine traffic stop. Later on the 1st, a drunk driver was reported by another driver just before 6:00 a.m. On the 2nd, a suspicious vehicle was reported at the McDonald’s on Washington Street. That driver was also busted for operating under the influence. It doesn’t stop there. On the 4th, a driver was charged with operating under the influence after a routine traffic stop just after 1:00 a.m.

Our Stoughton drunk driving accident lawyers understand that, in 2011, there were close to 10,000 fatalities throughout the nation as a result of accidents involving a drunk driver. These fatalities accounted for more than 30 percent of total traffic fatalities for the year. According to newly-released statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were close to 150 people killed in alcohol-related car accidents in the state of Massachusetts in 2011. These fatalities accounted for close to 40 percent of all of the traffic fatalities recorded throughout the year.

In Massachusetts, OUI―Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol―is a serious criminal offense. You can expect to have your license suspended, pay a major fine and even spend time in jail for your first offense. It gets much worse for subsequent offenses.

Not only should you remain sober behind the wheel to avoid this legal headache, but you should also do it to save lives. The truth of the matter is that your risks for an accident skyrocket when you consume alcohol. Never should there be a time when you should get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. You have so many other safe, and legal, ways to get home. It’s just not worth it.

According to officials with the State of Massachusetts, don’t drive if you have been drinking at all. Your ability to operate a motor vehicle can be compromised even if your blood alcohol content is below the legal limit.

Keep an eye on your friends and family members. Never allow them to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. Take their keys from them and help them to find a safe and sober ride home. It’s a move that could wind up saving their life.

Lastly, make sure you have a safe and sober ride home. You have plenty of options. Designate a sober driver, call a cab, take public transportation or call a friend or family member. Whatever you do — don’t get behind the wheel.
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Prom night is a right of passage enjoyed by teens throughout the United States. Unfortunately, prom night is also a time when bad things can happen. The same holds true through the upcoming graduation season. One primary risk kids face comes from drunk driving.

As our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers know, there are zero tolerance laws in place designed to stop young people from having a drink and getting behind the wheel. These laws, unfortunately, don’t always work the way they should and kids tend to drink anyway. This is especially true around certain special occasions such as prom and graduation.

The Dangers of Alcohol on Prom Night
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has attempted to address head-on the dangers that kids face as a result of the temptation to drink and drive around prom night. MADD has tackled this issue as part of its Prom-oting Safe Behavior Campaign.

On its Promoting Safe Behavior website, MADD urges teens to understand that drinking alcohol is not a prerequisite to good memories. In fact, drinking is not necessary to have a good time at all and can result in tragic consequences.

When a person drinks, MADD points out, good judgment disappears as the alcohol makes its impact on the body. An intoxicated person is more likely to make bad decisions such as getting into fights or having unprotected and/or unplanned sexual encounters. An intoxicated person is also more likely to drive drunk himself or to get into the car with someone who is driving drunk. The impaired judgment caused by the alcohol will then make an accident far more likely to occur.

These consequences of intoxication will only get worse the more someone drinks. A person who drinks a lot can start to black out and may not be in control of his or her actions at all. It is entirely possible that a person who has blacked out will remember nothing of what occurred the next day once the alcohol is out of his system. Still, those who are blacked out can continue to walk, talk, and even drive, all while they have no control at all over their bodies because of the alcohol.

Teens who have had large amounts to drink and who have blacked out present the greatest menace behind the wheel. However, any drunk teen puts himself and others in danger.

Preventing Drunken Accidents
Prom night and graduation are never worth losing a life over. Parents should talk to their kids about the dangers of drunk driving and should work out some basic ground rules that must be followed so that everyone can stay safe. While drinking should never be encouraged, the plan could, for example, involve a rented limo so that if someone does drink, it won’t be tempting for that person to drive home.

Planning alcohol-free activities is also a good idea for parents who wish to minimize the chances of a drunk driving crash. These types of activities allow kids to have fun without the risks associated with driving drunk.
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Alcohol can be very dangerous when overused or when in the wrong hands. Unfortunately, many of the individuals who are at the greatest risk of being harmed are those who are not even legally allowed to drink. These individuals are teenagers.

Our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers know that teens are often not mature enough to make wise choices about whether to drink or about how much to drink. Teens often think that drinking is fun, cool or something that everyone does. They may not know just how many risks they take on if they make the choice to get drunk.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is working to change this and part of its efforts to do this involve naming April “Alcohol Awareness” Month.

Alcohol Awareness Month Information

Mothers Against Drunk Driving highlights the need for alcohol awareness month on its website by listing some of the undesired consequences of teen drinking. According to MADD, teens who drink alcohol are more likely to:

• Die in car wrecks.
• Become pregnant.
• Fail in school.
• Become a victim of sexual assault or rape.
• Become an alcohol as an adult.
• Commit suicide.

None of these outcomes are desirable for any teen, but all are very real consequences of a young person making the choice to consume alcohol. Most people are aware of some of these consequences, especially of the risks of drunk driving because this is such a deadly practice. However, few teens and few parents are aware that all of these potential outcomes are more likely when a young person drinks.

Further, as MADD points out, many parents are unaware that 68 percent of underage drinking deaths happen off the roads and are caused by other incidents besides traffic crashes. Taking away the keys, in other words, doesn’t remove all the risks associated with teen drinking.

Parents need to take a broader and more comprehensive approach to helping kids understand just how dangerous drinking can be.

How Parents Can Help Protect their Kids
Although MADD has bad news about the risks that young drinkers face, there is also some good news. The good news is that parents can make a huge difference in whether their child drinks or not. A full 74 percent of teens- almost three-quarters- indicate that their parents are the number one influence on whether they will consume alcohol.

MADD advises parents to open up a dialogue with their teenagers as a good first step towards discussing the real-world consequences of alcohol consumption. April’s Alcohol Awareness Month is the prime time to have such a discussion, and MADD has made available a booklet called the Power of Parents booklet, which is designed to help parents better communicate with their kids on the dangers of intoxicated driving.

MADD also has a Power of You(th) booklet that is designed to help teens who want to take a stand against underaged drinking to access research information and materials.

Hopefully, parents and teens will be inspired over this month to learn more about the dangers of underaged drinking. If teens learn about the risks they face and if parents enforce rules and boundaries, then teens will be less at risk of suffering injury or harm. Not only that, but keeping teen drunk drivers off the road can help to keep everyone safe including innocent victims who could be killed if a drunk teen got behind the wheel.
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Drunk driving is one of the most dangerous behaviors that a person can engage in.

Our Boston drunk driving accident lawyers know that thousands of lives are lost each year as a result of the actions of a drunk driver. Unfortunately, while people know drunk driving is dangerous,some still choose to do it anyway. Some of those who would drive drunk, however, are deterred by the fact that it is a crime. Others who do drive drunk are stopped from hurting themselves and others as a result of criminal laws that give police the authority to make an arrest.

Unfortunately, as the Boston Globe reports, the number of drunk driving arrests in Boston is in decline. This is raising alarm among activists who believe that this is making the city much more dangerous.

Boston Drunk Driving Arrests Decline
According to the Boston Globe, arrests for impaired driving in Boston have fallen by as much as one-third since 2009. Last year, for example, Boston only made a grand total of 241 arrests for drunk driving. This is around two arrests every three days, down significantly from the number of arrests per day in prior years.

Boston is not only showing a decline in the number of drunk driving arrests as compared with prior years, the city is also showing that it is falling short when compared to other locations. For example, Denver had more than 3,000 drunk driving arrests last year although it has a slightly lower population than Boston. In Charlotte, North Carolina, a slightly larger city in a smaller metro region, there were 1,600 arrests last year for drunk driving. Both the 1,600 arrests and the 3,000+ arrests were significantly more arrests than Boston’s 241.

It might be nice to think that Boston simply doesn’t have very many drunk drivers. Boston police argue that the low number of arrests is simply because Boston is a walkable city. However, chances are this is not making much of an impact since Boston was a walkable city with a good public transportation system before the decline in arrests.

In fact, there are likely as many drunk drivers as ever– they just aren’t being arrested. Law enforcement officials and drunk driving opponents believe that the very small number of arrests and the significant decline in DUI actions is because law enforcement doesn’t place drunk driving as a priority. The Boston Globe indicated that police cannot prioritize drunk driving because they are focusing on fighting violent crimes, responding to emergency situations and protecting rough neighborhoods.

Another possible explanation is that there still are many arrests but that the arrests are being carried out by the state police rather than the Boston police (who have the low arrest statistics). State police have made more than 1,400 drunk driving arrests since 2010 started and they are responsible for controlling almost all roadways in and out of the city.

However, the significant decline in the number arrested is still cause for concern because there are plenty of streets within the city of Boston where drunk drivers are putting everyone at risk.
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There’s one local government in Ireland that recently decided to raise it’s legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level for drivers. According to the International Business Times, a local politician thought that residents should be able to drink more and then drive home. He said that these residents weren’t likely to crash on rural roadways and that the extra drinks were going to help fight off mental illness.

Our Boston drunk driving injury attorneys understand that many headlines proclaim this local government has “legalized drunk driving.” But the truth is that its newly-increased legal BAC level is still lower than the ..08 percent allotted for U.S. drivers. The small Ireland town simply went from a .05 to a .07 percent. Still, any amount of alcohol can negatively affect our skills behind the wheel. Alcohol slows down our reaction abilities and increases our risk for an accident.

“The risk of being in a crash gradually increases at each BAC level, but rises very rapidly after a driver reaches or exceeds .08 BAC,” stated an National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), there were close to 10,000 people killed in the U.S. because of alcohol-related car accidents. These accidents also injured close to 400,000 people. Alcohol-impaired drivers cost the country more than $130 billion each and every year. And even if you’re not involved in a drunk driving car accident, you’re helping to foot the bill. These accidents affect everyone in the community.

It’s so bad that every 53 minutes, on average, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash in the United States. It’s the cause of about a third of our fatal car accidents each year. What’s so alarming about this is that these collisions are completely preventable. There’s never a good reason for a driver to get behind the wheel after consuming any amount of alcohol. There are so many other safe and sober ways to get to where you’ve got to be. There are cab companies, buses, public transit as well as friends and family members. Heck, you can even snag a hotel room and sleep it off. There’s never a good reason to risk your life and the lives of innocent travelers because you’re under the influence.

In the state of Massachusetts, there were close to 150 alcohol-related car accident fatalities in 2011. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 110 of these fatalities involved a driver who was legally drunk behind the wheel.

Be careful out there, especially at night. During the evening hours, drivers are four times more likely to hop behind the wheel legally drunk. Our young ones are at risk, too. As a matter of fact, drivers between the ages of 21 and 24 are most likely to be intoxicated when involved in a fatal accident. Regardless of time of day or age — stay sober and safe behind the wheel.
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A recent car accident in Lakeville left a woman in jail on a $100,000 bond. According to My FOX Boston, the accident took the life of a teenage driver.

The 23-year-old accused driver entered a plea of not guilty in Wareham District Court to charges of driving to endanger, driving under the influence of liquor with serious injury and negligence as well as marked lanes violations.

It happened at roughly 2:00 a.m. on Route 44 in Lakeville. According to accident reports, the collision was so powerful that it flipped both vehicles upside down. In addition to the teenage death, there was another occupant seriously injured in the wreck. When officers tested the driver at the scene, she returned a blood alcohol level (BAC) of nearly .15 percent. The limit in the state of Massachusetts is .08.

Our Lakeville car accident attorneys understand that prosecutors are accusing the woman of not only being drunk, but high as well. Drugged driving continues to be a problem not only in Massachusetts, but on roadways nationwide. Drugged driving is dangerous driving and oftentimes leads to death. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, about one out of every eight weekend, nighttime accidents involve a driver who tested positive for illicit drugs in 2010.

Overall, officials estimate that about 20 percent of all accidents in the U.S. are caused by drugged driving. What this means is that an estimated 6,760 people are killed, close to 450,000 people are injured and these accident run a tab of close to $60 billion each year.

The truth of the matter is that drugged driving poses threats to public safety, as evidenced by the number of fatal crashes each year on our county’s highways.

In recent years, more attention has been given to drugs other than alcohol that have increasingly been recognized as hazards to road traffic safety. Overall, marijuana is the most prevalent illegal drug detected in impaired drivers, fatally injured drivers and motor vehicle crash victims. Other drugs also implicated include benzodiazepines, cocaine, opiates, and amphetamines.

Even with all the research on just how dangerous drugs can be for drivers, drugged driving laws have not been able to keep up with alcohol-related driving legislation. Many believe that this is because of the limitations of technology in determining specific levels of impairment based on levels of the drugs in the system. Detection of alcohol, through technology has developed a very effective means of measuring BAC and level of impairment. For drugs, other than alcohol, no such agreed upon standard like the BAC has been reliably demonstrated.

It’s important that you never get behind the wheel after consuming mind-altering drugs. It’s also important for you to understand that your everyday medications and prescription drugs can effect your reflexes and judgment behind the wheel.
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A woman was killed in a recent accident in Waltham, and her boyfriend has been arrested.

According to Wicked Local, the boyfriend was recently arrested and was charged with operating under the influence. The accident happened after their vehicle flipped on Main Street. He was following her vehicle as it happened.

The Middlesex District Attorney’s office reports that the two were leaving a party in Maynard and were heading home when it all happened. He remained at the crash site after the accident. According to officers, the boyfriend appeared to be intoxicated. He had bloodshot eyes, he was slurring his words and his balance was unsteady. He admitted that he had been drinking prior to the accident, but said that he didn’t know how the accident happened.

Our Waltham accident lawyers understand that there is no safe way to get home if you’re behind the wheel of a motor vehicle after drinking. You can have your buddies follow you, you can take roadways that aren’t populated — you can even use the one-eye-open trick. You are still a high risk to yourself and everyone else on the road There is never a time you should get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. Your risks for an accident, serious injury and even death skyrocket.

After speaking with officers, the man was arrested because he refused to take a sobriety test. As they booked him, officers found a bottle of vodka in his coat pocket. He entered a plea of not guilty to his OUI charges.

According to police reports, the girlfriend was not wearing her seat belt when the vehicle flipped over. Officers are also citing speed as a factor in the accident.

According to Alcohol Alert, there were close to 350 people killed in alcohol-related car accidents in the state of Massachusetts in 2011. These accidents accounted for close to 40 percent of all of the car accidents recorded in the state for the year.

In 2010, there were fewer than 315 drunk driving-related fatalities in the state.

But why do people continue to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol? There are so many alternative and safe ways to get home.

Every year, there are thousands who are killed in these drunk driving car accidents. These accidents are completely preventable. You’re not only risking your own life, but you’re risking the lives of innocent people. Make the safe and responsible decision.

The first and most important thing you should do is designate a sober driver to get you home. If you’re stuck without a designated driver — don’t worry. You can call a taxi, call a friend or family member, make use of public transportation or stay the night somewhere.
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