by Queener Law | Jan 18, 2015 | Auto Accident, DUI, Tennessee
When people choose to climb behind the wheel after drinking, they put the lives of everyone else on the road in danger. Many automobile accident attorneys Gallatin know that in a split second, a bad decision can lead to a catastrophic accident. That is what happened to a young Tennessee teen celebrating spring break with his friends in Panama Beach. According to the Panama City News Herald, the 18-year-old had a brief interaction with law enforcement when he backed up into another vehicle approximately 30 minutes before the fatal crash occurred. Although the teen admitted that he was slightly buzzed from drinking, he climbed behind the wheel again. He then continued to drive with a blood alcohol content level of 0.159 percent. That was when he allegedly fell asleep while driving and smashed into another car, killing the 22-year-old driver of the vehicle.
Rather than try the now 19-year-old as a youth and sentence him to receive treatment, the judge presiding over the case ordered the boy to spend 10 years in prison for DUI manslaughter. The teen is mandated to create a talk on how the fatal crash has influenced his life, and present it to the Bay County Chamber of Commerce. He must also talk to high school students about the dangers of drinking and driving at least twice a year.
Teen driver alcohol consumption
Teenager motorists and alcohol are a deadly combination. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that while traffic accidents were the leading cause of teen fatalities in 2011, nearly one-quarter of those accidents involved alcohol. Inexperience and the inability to make wise choices in certain situations, makes teenage drivers three times more likely than experienced drivers to be involved in a serious car accident, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol can make the situation even worse.
DUIs change lives
Mothers Against Drunk Driving reported that 10,076 people were killed in drunk driving auto accidents in 2013, and another 290,000 people were seriously injured. In Tennessee alone, 295 people were fatally injured in DUI accidents in 2012, which was a 14 percent increase from the previous year. Unfortunately, drunk driving cases are familiar territory for automobile accident attorneys in Gallatin.
Injured victims of drunk driving collisions may find it helpful to partner with automobile accident attorneys in Gallatin. Some people may be eligible to receive compensation for their medical expenses, property damage and lost wages from work.
by Queener Law | Dec 11, 2014 | Auto Accident, DUI, Tennessee
While U.S. drunk driving fatalities increased by 4.6 percent from 2011 to 2012, Tennessee saw a 14 percent increase in the number of people killed by drunk drivers during that time, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Mothers Against Drunk Driving reported that 295 people were killed in Tennessee as the result of drunk driving car accidents in 2012, accounting for 29 percent of all motor vehicle accident deaths in the state. In an attempt to lower this high fatality rate, Tennessee lawmakers have enacted legislation to keep drunk drivers off of the road.
What is considered drunk driving?
In Tennessee, people with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 percent or higher are considered intoxicated, and may be charged with a DUI. People who drive with a BAC of 0.08 percent may have trouble perceiving the distance and speed of other vehicles on the road, according to the NHTSA. They may also experience short-term memory loss, concentration problems and the inability to control their speed.
Drivers with higher levels of intoxication may find it difficult to stay in their lane of traffic, and are less likely to respond to emergency situations. All of the dangerous effects of alcohol intoxication place other motorists in danger of serious injury or death if they become involved in an automobile accident.
What is Tennessee doing about the problem?
MADD reports that approximately one-third of all people who are convicted of drunk driving have been arrested or convicted of a DUI in the past. In response to the significant increase in drunk driving deaths in Tennessee, the state enacted a law requiring all convicted DUI offenders to get an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicles, according to MADD. These cellphone-sized devices are essentially small breath test analyzers that prevent the vehicle from starting if the driver’s blood alcohol content level is above a preset limit.
Ignition interlock devices have proven to be successful in keeping drunk drivers off of the roads in many states, as reported by MADD. Convicted drunk drivers in Tennessee are also required to perform community service, pay fines and court costs and enroll in a court-ordered DUI education course. They will also have their driver’s licenses suspended for a time depending on the specific circumstances of the crime.
By enforcing the new ignition interlock device law, as well as the other strict legal consequences of drunk driving, Tennessee hopes to see a decrease in the number of drunk driving deaths in the future.
