Articles Posted in Drunk Driving Accidents

A local man, who reportedly slammed into a parked vehicle, is now facing some serious charges. According to The Bangor Daily News, the accident happened on Broadway near the John Bapst Memorial High School just after midnight.When officers arrived at the scene of the accident, the driver was gone but they were able to find him shortly after, hiding under a porch on Penobscot Street. The porch he was hiding under was the porch of his own home. He has been charged with drunk driving as well as leaving the scene of an accident.

Our Portland drunk driving accident lawyers understand that there are thousands killed each and every year in the U. . in drunk driving crashes. These accidents are completely preventable, yet they continue to account for more than 30 percent of all of the traffic fatalities we observe each and every year.

It’s pretty black and white. In Maine, if you are driving a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent or more, you are guilty of a criminal offense known as Operating Under the Influence (OUI), according to the Maine Department of Public Safety. If you’re under the age of 21, you are not allowed to have any alcohol in your system when behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Officers practice a strict zero tolerance policy with this one.

And not only do you want to stay out from behind the wheel when you’ve been drinking because you could wind up in a potentially fatal accident, but you also run the risk of landing in jail with a charge that can cost you roughly $7,000.

According to MSN Money, the costs associated with this charge come from court fees and fines, OUI classes, driver’s license fees, attorney fees, increase insurance rates, ignition interlocks and various other costs.

It’s a headache you should just want to avoid. You’ll have to take days off of work to appear in court. You might end up serving jail time. You’ll have to dish out cash for the court’s time. You’ll have to take alcohol-related courses. You could get slapped with a costly ignition interlock. You could end up paying a lot to get your license reinstated. You’re going to have to pay more for car insurance because companies now see you as a risk.

Just for a first offense, you’re looking at 30 days behind bars, a license suspension for 90 days and a fine of $500. In addition to all of these costs, you could lose your job and even be skipped over for new job opportunities. A drunk driving conviction doesn’t look good on anyone’s record.

These are risks that anyone and everyone should want to avoid. Stay safe and stay sober behind the wheel to avoid a whole heap of problems this summer.

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Our teens are gearing up for prom and graduation season and they’re looking forward to closing out their high school career. What they might not be thinking too much about is their safety on our roadways — especially with the dangers of drinking and driving.Our teens may not be able to legally purchase or consume alcohol, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t or they won’t. That’s why officials with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are here to help parents and guardians to get the conversation started about safe driving and a safe prom and graduation season. It’s all a part of April’s Alcohol Awareness Month.

Our Portland accident lawyers understand that the number one cause of death for teens across the country is car accidents. USA TODAY reports that compared with a sober driver of the same age, a driver 16 to 20 years old with a blood alcohol level (BAC) of at least 0.08 percent is estimated to be more than 30 times as likely to die in a single-vehicle crash and close to 15 times as likely to be in a crash in which someone else dies.

One of the most beneficial things you can do to help to keep your teen safe, aside from talking with them regularly about roadway dangers, is to make sure you know where your teen is and who they’re with. You want to make sure you have household rules, limits and consequences for breaking these regulations. Consider talking to the parents of your teen’s friends to make sure that everyone is one the same page. You need to know what your teen does after school, at night, and on weekends and with whom they’re doing it.

It all boils down to the fact that our young ones can be reckless and impulsive. Even smart teens with a good head on their shoulders will sometimes make impulsive, poor choices. Peer pressure can overcome their good sense. That’s why it’s important to talk with your teen about different situations that they may find themselves in through prom and graduation season. Talk with them about peer pressure and how to get out of drinking without losing their cool. Practice these conversations with your teen. You’re going to want to help to make sure that they’re prepared for every situation that high school can throw at them.

Lastly, you want to make sure that you’re setting a good example for the young drivers in your family. Sometimes as parents we underestimate the importance of the example we set for our kids and think it doesn’t matter much. But there is good evidence that it does matter. With your help, we can keep our teens safe out there, through graduation and beyond.

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It has been well established that a driver who is drunk is not a very good driver. Drunk drivers have impaired reflexes that make them unable to react effectively behind the wheel.

Blurred vision and impaired faculties can make a drunk driver swerve or go into the wrong lane, and a driver who is intoxicated may also be more likely to fall asleep at the wheel since alcohol is a depressant.

Obviously, a driver with a very high blood-alcohol content will be the most seriously impaired and will present the greatest danger. However, our Bangor drunk driving accident lawyers know that a driver who has had just one too many is also dangerous.

Many drivers who get behind the wheel drunk aren’t completely intoxicated but are just over the line and don’t realize that they are too drunk to drive. According to MSN Autos, a new app can now provide a method of testing BAC on a smartphone, which will hopefully help to ensure that drivers realize when they have had too much to drink and aren’t safe behind the wheel.

New App May Prevent Drunk Driving Crashes
The new app that aims to curb drunk driving crashes is called Breathometer. Made by a California start-up company, the app works in conjunction with a small device that plugs into the headphone jack on your smartphone. You can blow into the device that is plugged into the headphone jack and the app will tell you whether you are over-the-limit.

If you have had too much to drink, the app will provide you with useful information that can help you to get home without driving drunk. For example, the app will provide information on taxi cabs and other local transportation that you can take advantage of instead of getting in your car.

The idea behind the Breathometer is that many people routinely take their smartphones out with them when they go out drinking. Provided the app is installed and the device is hooked into the phone, those who are out at bars, parties or restaurants will thus always have access to a method of testing their blood alcohol content. Those who are concerned they may have had too much to drink can find out conclusively if they are over the limit and if they’d be driving drunk if they drove home.

Checking Your BAC On the Go
The California start-up is currently working to get their product off the ground and to make it available on a widespread basis. They are seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and they are seeking crowdsource funding in order to produce the product for sale. Those who pledge $20 will receive a Breathometer device while those who make a pledge of $500 will receive a lifetime upgrade for all future products.

Until the product becomes available for all to buy, however, there are existing devices on the market that people can use to perform a BAC test when they are out. For around $30, you can buy a device that fits on your keychain and that will allow you to take the smart step of ensuring you aren’t a drunk driver before heading into your car.

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As Super Bowl fans are gearing up for the gridiron showdown tonight between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers at 6:30 p.m. EST, our Bangor personal injury lawyers are bracing for the inevitable post-game spike in DUI crashes.

NBC News reports that last year, Americans spent more than $1 billion on beer at grocery and convenience stores in the two weeks surrounding the game – an unofficial American holiday. That figure doesn’t even include bars, restaurants, hotels and stadiums.

While the Beer Institute has indicated that isn’t a whole lot higher than what sales might be for any other major sporting event, what they can’t deny is the fact that injuries and deaths in the immediate aftermath of the game spike by between 40 and 70 percent (depending on which study you consult).

Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Association reported there were 27 deaths linked to alcohol in the wake of the Super Bowl. That’s higher than the average rate of 24 deaths tabulated each year on that day between 1975 and 2001.

Research indicates that accident rates are actually higher for individuals whose team lost the game. In 2003, the University of Toronto analyzed nearly three decades worth of U. . crash data on Super Bowl Sunday, finding that there was an overall 50 percent increase in the crash rate in the hours following the game. However, it was a 6 percent increase in the winner’s state, and nearly a 68 percent increase in the loser’s state.

In the first hour after the game, researchers discovered a 70 percent spike in motor vehicle accidents, regardless of the state.

What’s more, the number of crashes on Super Bowl Sunday was on average 1,000 more than for a typical Sunday any other week of the year.

This is not just anecdotal fluff – it’s real danger and possibility that all fans, hosts and drivers need to take seriously.

In addition to the Russian roulette fans are playing with others’ lives when they get behind the wheel after drinking, they should understand that the average DUI – from the time you see those flashing lights to the time your case is closed – is going to cost you about $10,000. In some cases, it’s even more expensive – not to mention the fact that this blemish will remain on your permanent record and could even prevent you from obtaining certain types of employment.

It’s simply not worth it.

Hosts, too, should recognize their potential liability in serving alcohol to someone who later gets behind the wheel and crashes.

Make sure your guests get home safely. In addition to the wings and the pizza, make this a part of your Super Bowl party checklist:
-Offer your guests plenty of non-alcoholic beverages and food;
-Do not allow anyone under the age of 21 to drink in your home;
-Cut off the booze after the end of the third quarter – just like the stadiums do. Offer more food, coffee, deserts and soda.
-Make sure your guests have a designated driver. If someone appears to too drunk to drive, take their keys away. Either arrange for another ride home or offer to let them stay until they have slept it off.

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