Washington State DUI News: Government study finds 1 in 12 drivers admit driving drunk

One in 12 drivers admitted driving drunk at least once over the course of a year, a government survey released Wednesday found.

One in five, or 20% of the 6,999 people surveyed, said they had driven in the past year within two hours of drinking an alcoholic beverage. Yet an overwhelming majority — four out of five people — consider drinking and driving a major threat to their safety, according to the 2008 survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

"We have to do more as a country to close the gap between believing that drunk driving is a threat and actively doing something about it," NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said.  "Impaired driving remains still a very serious problem," he said.

For the entire story click here:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-25-drunk-driving_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish County DUI attorneys, King County DUI attorneys, Island County DUI attorneys, Whatcom County DUI attorneys, or Skagit County DUI attorneys at 425-493-1115 or check out our website at http://www.washdui.com

 

Washington State DUI News: DUI blitz through Labor Day

"We have to do more as a country to close the gap between believing that drunk driving is a threat and actively doing something about it," NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said.

"Impaired driving remains still a very serious problem," he said.

As Labor Day approaches and summer travel peaks, police nationwide will launch a two-week blitz of DUI checkpoints and drunken-driving patrols, Strickland said.

The federal government is spending $13 million in television and radio ads, mostly at sporting events, to get the message out, Strickland said.  "If you drive drunk, you will be arrested," he said.

For more on the story click here:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-25-drunk-driving_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish County DUI attorneys, King County DUI attorneys, Island County DUI attorneys, Whatcom County DUI attorneys, or Skagit County DUI attorneys at 425-493-1115 or check out our website at http://www.washdui.com

Western Washington (Island, Skagit, Snohomish, Whatcom and King Counties) DUI Blitz

As Labor Day approaches and summer travel peaks, police nationwide will launch a two-week blitz of DUI checkpoints and drunken-driving patrols, NTHSA representative Strickland said.

The federal government is spending $13 million in television and radio ads, mostly at sporting events, to get the message out, Strickland said.  "If you drive drunk, you will be arrested," he said.  About a third of all fatal vehicle crashes in the USA involve a drunken driver, Department of Transportation statistics show.  "We would cut fatalities by half if we had 100% seat-belt use and eliminated drunk driving," said Vernon Betkey, chairman of the Governors Highway Safety Association.  Betkey, Maryland's Highway Safety Program coordinator, said police departments throughout the state would step up drunken-driving patrols and checkpoints. The state is spending $500,000 on its drunken-driving campaign.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-25-drunk-driving_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish County DUI attorneys, King County DUI attorneys, Island County DUI attorneys, Whatcom County DUI attorneys, or Skagit County DUI attorneys at 425-493-1115 or check out our website at http://www.washdui.com

Washington DUI News: More money should be spent of DUI Officer training, not television ads

As Labor Day approaches and summer travel peaks, police nationwide will launch a two-week blitz of DUI checkpoints and drunken-driving patrols, NTHSA representative Strickland said.  Further, the federal government is spending $13 million in television and radio ads, mostly at sporting events, to get the message out, Strickland said.  "If you drive drunk, you will be arrested," he said.

I find this very interesting indeed.  I agree that DUI drivers are dangerous, law enforcement must be enhanced during specific times, and those who commit the crime must be arrested (assuming probable cause exists).  However, what is lost in the message is the fact that the government is not spending any more money on the things that will improve law enforcement and ultimately catch and convict more DUI drivers.  Simply, as a whole police officers right now is poorly trained in DUI enforcement.  Their training consists of a few days of specific training at the Academy of DUI detection and every few years they do a one day class.  Further, this training is deficient and the studies relied on are flawed.  Law enforcement will not admit that, after all they won’t openly criticize themselves, but if they want proof they should see an average police officer on the stand during a trial with an experienced DUI defense attorney.  The level of knowledge law enforcement has regarding what they do, enforce DUI laws, is not enough.  I don’t blame the officers, but I do blame the ones in charge.  Better officers with better training (and more advanced and up-to-date training) is the only way to catch (and convict) more DUI drivers.  It’s simple, really. 

For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish County DUI attorneys, King County DUI attorneys, Island County DUI attorneys, Whatcom County DUI attorneys, or Skagit County DUI attorneys at 425-493-1115 or check out our website at http://www.washdui.com

NHTSA survery says 8% of all drivers in Skagit, Island, Snohomish, Whatcom and King Counties admit to driving drunk

The NHTSA survey found that 8% of all drivers, an estimated 17.2 million Americans, have driven even though they thought their blood-alcohol level exceeded the legal limit of .08%.

"It's going up slightly, which is the wrong trend," Strickland said.

About 8% of people rode in a car driven by someone they thought was too drunk to drive. Among them, men 21 to 24 years old were most likely to ride in a car with a drunken driver. One in four young men said they rode with a drunken driver in the past year.  The survey also asked drivers who said they drove within two hours of drinking alcohol how many drinks they could have before being too drunk to drive. Forty percent said they could drive after three drinks, and 11% said they could drink five, the survey found.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-25-drunk-driving_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish County DUI attorneys, King County DUI attorneys, Island County DUI attorneys, Whatcom County DUI attorneys, or Skagit County DUI attorneys at 425-493-1115 or check out our website at http://www.washdui.com

Washington State DUIs: Deferred Prosecutions and how to mess them up

If you are on a deferred prosecution you better be serious about complying with treatment and maintaining lawful behavior.  If you do not comply with treatment (ie. you miss a few meetings) you will likely be called back to court to address this issue with the Judge.  If this is the case, get back into treatment prior to court so that the Judge will consider giving you a second chance.  If you fall off the wagon and relapse (start drinking) and the court gets wind of this, be sure you report the relapse to your treatment provider and probation officer (after checking with your attorney first, of course).  With a relapse while on deferred prosecution you can expect the court to call you back for a review to consider whether you should be revoked from the program.  If the court does summons you back based on the above violations the Judge may revoke the deferred prosecution and you will then be sentenced to the DUI and the conditions (ie. jail) deemed appropriate by the Judge.  The key word is “may” so get prepared prior to court so that you have an opportunity to convince the Judge that keeping you on the deferred prosecution is in the best interests of all involved.

If, however, you commit a new DUI while on the deferred prosecution you are in a world of hurt.  This will likely result in an automatic revocation of your DP – so expect a terse response from the Judge and, bring a tooth-brush to court.

For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish County DUI attorneys, King County DUI attorneys, Island County DUI attorneys, Whatcom County DUI attorneys, or Skagit County DUI attorneys at 425-493-1115 or check out our website at http://www.washdui.com

Washington State DUI News: Man arrested for DUI with 3-year-old son in the vehicle

 

A Burien man was arrested Sunday after being caught driving while intoxicated with his three-year-old son in the back. The man registered a BAC level of .102. He was then arrested, taken to the King County Jail and booked for DUI and Reckless Endangerment.
Click here for more on this story: http://burien.komonews.com/content/man-arrested-dui-3-year-old-son-vehicle
For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish County DUI attorneys, King County DUI attorneys, Island County DUI attorneys, Whatcom County DUI attorneys, or Skagit County DUI attorneys at 425-493-1115 or check out our website at http://www.washdui.com