Articles Posted in DUI

An Illinois auto accident has been caused by a Chicago man that allegedly drove his vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .425, approximately 5 times the legal limit of .08, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The driver was traveling north on McCormack Boulevard near Oakton Avenue in Skokie on January 14. He allegedly crossed the double yellow center line and crashed head on into a southbound Toyota.

The driver of the Toyota reported that he saw the other vehicle, an Audi, coming at him and not slowing down. He said that all he could do was brake and wait for an impact because there was no way to avoid the collision.

About one-eighth of the driving public drove drunk last year and 1 in 25 drove high on illegal drugs, according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Our Chicago car accident lawyers continue to report on the dangers of accidents involving drivers under the influence, which were responsible for 42 percent of all fatal crashes in Illinois last year, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The USA Today reports more than 30 million drivers drove under the influence of alcohol. Another 10 million drove under the influence of drugs.”Thousands of people die each year as a result of drunk and drugged driving, and the lives of thousands of family members and friends left behind are forever scarred,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “Some progress has been made in reducing the levels of drunk and drugged driving through education, enhanced law enforcement and public outreach efforts. However, the nation must continue to work to prevent this menace and confront these dangerous drivers in an aggressive way.”

As we reported recently on our Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog, the government is growing increasingly vocal about the risk of impairment caused by drugs, whether illegal narcotics, prescription medication or over-the-counter products.

“While we have understood for some time the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol, much less is known or discussed about drivers under the influence of other drugs,” said Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy. “This new data adds to other emerging research revealing that there is an alarmingly high percentage of Americans on our roadways with drugs in their system. At a time when drug use is on the rise, it is crucial that communities act today to address the threat of drugged driving as we work to employ more targeted enforcement and develop better tools to detect the presence of drugs among drivers.”

Among Illinois drivers over the age of 16, some 14.7 to 16.9 percent have driven drunk in the past year, according to the study. That puts Illinois and nine other states in the second-worst category. About one-fourth of drivers in 10 other states admitted to driving drunk during the past 12 months.

The report did find the overall rate of drunk driving declined slightly during the last decade, from 14.6 percent to 13.2 percent. Drugged driving declined from 4.8 percent to 4.3 percent.

“We can be pleasantly surprised that the numbers are going down,” says Peter Delany, director of the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. “That doesn’t mean that they’re great, but the numbers are going in the right direction. But it’s not where we can rest on our laurels.”
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The Chicago Police Department issued a press release last week stating that to try to reduce Illinois auto accidents, it’s DUI strike force patrol would hit the streets over the weekend for the second time in recent weeks. The patrol was to take place in the Ogden District from 8 PM on Friday until 4 AM on Saturday.

Police say the intention of the program is to saturate an area of the City with police officers constantly monitoring traffic for signs of intoxicated drivers. They were to look for speeders, seat-belt violators, and alcohol-related violations. The Chicago Police Department also stated they would be patrolling with a portable breath alcohol testing unit to expedite the process of charging a driver with DUI.

The DUI strike force patrol worked the Jefferson Park (16th) District on November 19-20, 2010. At that time they issued the following numbers of citations:

For the first time in recent history, the number of fatal accidents declined in all categories nationwide in 2009, including fatal motorcycle accidents, which broke an 11-year string of annual increases, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Our Chicago injury lawyers will be examining the data as it is released. A total of 33,808 were killed in car accidents nationwide, the lowest number since the 33,186 recorded in 1950. A total of 37,423 people were killed in accidents in 2008.One-third of all highway fatalities are still alcohol related. While fewer Illinois drunk driving accidents were reported in 2009, the percentage of alcohol involvement actually increased. Last year, 35 percent of Illinois traffic fatalities involved drunk drivers, or 319 of 911 deaths. In 2008, 34 percent of the state’s traffic deaths were linked to alcohol — 356 of 1,043.

So far in 2010, Chicago car accidents are responsible for about 15 percent of all Illinois traffic fatalities, accounting for 95 of 601 road deaths.

Fatal motorcycle accidents declined by 850, accounting for 24 percent of the overall drop in traffic fatalities. And passenger car occupant fatalities declined for the 7th year in a row and are now at the lowest level since NHTSA began recording them in 1975.

Among the findings:

Total Traffic Fatalities: 33,808 — down 9.7 percent from 37,423
Passenger Vehicles: 23,382 — down 8.2 percent from 25,462
Large Trucks: 503 — down 26 percent from 682
Motorcycles: 4,462 — down 16 percent from 5,312
Pedestrians: 4,092 — down 7.3 percent from 4,414
Bicyclists: 150 — down 12 percent from 188

Injuries were also down across the board:

Total Injuries: 2.217 million — down 5.5 percent from 2.346 million
Passenger Vehicles: 1.976 million — down 4.6 percent from 2.072 million
Large Trucks: 17,000 — down 26 percent from 23,000
Motorcycles: 90,000 — down 6.3 percent from 96,000
Pedestrians: 59,000 — down 14 percent from 69,000
Bicyclists: 51,000 — down 1.9 percent from 52,000

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A new study found that 17 million motorists a year drive drunk despite 80 percent of drivers who cite drunk driving as a serious threat to the health and welfare of their family.

The study found that 8 percent of motorists admitted to driving drunk at least once in the past year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. As our Chicago injury lawyers have frequently reported, drunk driving crashes are a leading cause of Illinois car accidents — 434 of 1,043 fatal accidents that were reported in 2008 involved alcohol.The news has Mothers Against Drunk Driving redoubling its efforts as we head into the heart of the 2010 holiday season.

“The survey makes one thing very clear: drunk driving remains a primary threat to the American family,” said Laura Dean-Mooney, MADD National President. “This means that MADD’s work won’t be done until cars are turned into the cure, eliminating drunk driving forever.”

Still, there is good news: MADD says drunk driving fatalities have declined nationwide by 44 percent in the 30 years since the organization’s inception. And the survey found support for ignition interlock devices and sobriety checkpoints, two of the enforcement actions most promoted by MADD and other safety advocates.

Like many poor driving decision, the study found that teenagers are among those most at risk; particularly young men under the age of 24. A full one-fourth of all young males admitted to driving drunk or riding in a car with someone who had too much to drink at some point during the last year.

“We know that the younger kids start drinking alcohol, the more likely they are to become drunk drivers,” said Dean-Mooney. “This data reiterates that point and makes it clear that parents need to talk to their kids about the dangers of drinking underage early, and often.”
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