drinking and driving

Published on: October 28, 2022

Judge Approves Bond for Motorist in Fatal Atlanta DUI Accident

A judge in Fulton County has set a bond for a motorist who police allege, caused a drunk driving accident on I- 20 early in the month. The impact of the crash caused one of the passengers in the car the motorist hit, a 21-year-old woman to be ejected from the car. She sustained fatal injuries. The other people in the car were also injured, and still recovering in the hospital.

This judge set a bond of $310,000 for the alleged driver on charges that range from DUI to first degree homicide. For the family of the woman killed in the accident, it’s been a frustrating experience to see the man they believe responsible for their loved one’s death out on bond.

There has been a decline in injuries and fatalities caused by drunk driving accidents across Georgia. For example, in 2008, there were 416 deaths caused by drunk driving accidents. That was a decline over 2007, and mirrored the drop across most of Georgia, and, in fact, most of the country. Much of this decline can be attributed to better enforcement efforts .Law enforcement has become more aggressive about cracking down on drunk drivers randomly over the weekends and major holidays.

Published on: February 28, 2022

Drugs Compound Effect of Alcohol-Impaired Driving

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Driving under the influence of alcohol on its own is dangerous enough, but when a person drives under the influence of both alcohol and drugs, there is an even more dangerous impact on his ability to drive safely. A new analysis of previous studies that have focused on the effect of a combination of alcohol and drugs on a person’s ability to drive safely underscores what safety advocates have always known – that drugs combined with alcohol is a potent auto accident risk.

The analysis of more than 57 previous studies was published recently in the journal Addiction. The researchers were specifically looking at studies that proved a link between a combination of alcohol and drugs on traffic safety.

According to the analysis, the combination of drugs and alcohol has a much more severe and detrimental impact on a person’s ability to drive safely, compared to the influence of only alcohol or only drugs. What is interesting is that the review underscores the different kinds of impact that alcohol and drugs can have on a person’s ability to drive safely. Alcohol, for instance, encourages impulsive and rash driving behaviors like speeding, that significantly increase the risk of being involved in an accident. Drugs, however, do not encourage speeding. In fact, persons driving under the influence of drugs may actually drive slowly, but that does not mean that they are driving safely. Dangerous driving behaviors like veering from the lane are very common when a person is driving under the influence of drugs.

Published on: December 31, 2021

Most Drunk Drivers Wrongly Believe they are Fit to Drive

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

It is well known that alcohol impairs a person’s judgment and reflexive abilities which is why someone who has been drinking should not be behind a wheel. However, most motorists underestimate exactly how drunk they are and almost always mistakenly believe that they are fit to drive. Not surprisingly, a new study finds that self-monitoring and self-evaluation of drunkenness may not help prevent accidents involving drunk motorists.

The study was conducted in Germany which has a legal blood alcohol concentration limit of 0.05. The researchers found in their study that more than 50% of the participants believed that they were fit to drive even though they had a blood alcohol concentration limit that was higher than the maximum legal limit. There were ninety participants in the study, and the average age of the participants was 24. As part of the study, the participants were made to drink alcoholic beverages until their blood alcohol concentration level reached 0.11% or more than twice the legal limit in that country. The study was conducted over a period of two days.

The researchers found that as many as 39% of the participants believed that they had just reached the intoxication limit when they had crossed the limit. On the second day, 53% of the participants believed that they had just reached the legal limit when they had actually surpassed it. This shows that individual ability to determine drunkenness cannot be taken as a confirmation of a person’s ability to drive safely. Self evaluation of driving ability can be extremely prejudiced, and drivers can be prone to making errors in determining their own ability to drive safely.

Published on: March 20, 2015

Alcohol, Marijuana Involved in Half of All Accidents Involving Teens, Young Adults

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Alcohol and drugs are a leading cause of death involving persons in the 18-25 age group in the United States. However, a new study indicates that alcohol and drug use may be much more prominent factors in car accidents involving teenagers and young adult motorists.

According to a new study, 50% of all deaths involving teenagers and young adults in car accidents involve the use of alcohol or marijuana. In fact, researchers who conducted the study expressed concerns that the growing wave of legalization of marijuana around the country could spell disaster for young motorist safety. These motorists are already at a higher risk of alcohol use, drug use, and other kinds of dangerous driving practices. The researchers speculate that the increasing availability of marijuana and easing of restrictions on the use of pot have not had any effect on the popularity of alcohol among these drivers.

The study found that accident victims above the age of 21 were much more likely than younger victims to be driving with a combination of marijuana and alcohol in their system. About 50.3%, of young motorists who died were either stoned or drunk at the time of their accidents. In total, 37% of the motorists tested positive for alcohol at the time of their deaths, while 5.9% tested positive for marijuana. In 7.6% of the cases, the motorists had both alcohol and marijuana in their system.

Published on: November 17, 2011

High Risk of Georgia Drunk Driving Accidents over Halloween

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Vampires and ghouls were not the only scary beings on the streets this past Halloween.Both pedestrian trick-or-treaters and motorists were at a high risk of car accidents involving intoxicated drivers on Halloween.The Governors Highway Safety Association warned of an increase in accidents involving drunk drivers in Atlanta over the holiday.

The Governors Highway Safety Association joined state and local highway safety agencies to crack down on drunk drivers.Local law enforcement officers ran an intensified campaign aimed at pulling drunk drivers off the streets before they caused an accident, and injure or kill someone. Drunk driving accidents result in a significant number of serious personal injuries and wrongful deaths.

According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2009, close to 50% of auto accident fatalities that occurred on Halloween night involved a drunk motorist.In these cases, the motorist had a blood-alcohol concentration of .08% or higher. Every year, the period between 6 PM on October 31 and 5:59 AM on November 1 is a highly dangerous time for pedestrians, motorcyclists and drivers in Atlanta.

Published on: February 17, 2010

Police Believe Drunk Driving Cause of DeKalb County Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Police Believe Drunk Driving Was Cause of DeKalb County Accident

Police believe drunk driving was a possible factor in a serious multiple vehicle accident on I-85 over the weekend. The accident, which injured 9 people, involved a wrong way driver.

According to police, a Chevy Blazer was traveling southbound in the northbound HOV lane. At about 3 am, the Blazer crashed into a Ford Explorer and a Buick. Four cars were involved in the accident, and 9 people were injured, including the driver who was driving the wrong way. He continues to remain in the hospital, along with three of the injured victims.

Published on: December 14, 2009

Georgia’s Campaign Against Drunk Driving Lowers Accident Rates

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

States like Georgia, that conduct aggressive enforcement activities against drunk driving, are more likely to see a dramatic drop in accident fatality rates. That’s according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who launched the annual national crackdown on drunk driving over the holiday season.

Across the country, including in Georgia, law enforcement efforts will be stepped up to keep intoxicated motorists off the road. Each state has its own version of the annual crackdown, and this typically includes sobriety checkpoints and concentrated drunk driving patrols. The launch of the annual crackdown coincides with an announcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that drunk driving accident fatalities nationwide dropped by 7 percent in 2008 compared to 2007. In Georgia, 416 people died in drunk driving crashes in 2008, compared to 445 in 2007. That was a decrease of 5 percent. This has been largely due to the effort of our law enforcement personnel, and the concentrated patrols mounted during alcohol-heavy holidays, like New Years.

The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety’s campaign “Operation Zero Tolerance” will kick off later this month around the state. The point of having campaigns like this around the holiday season, isn’t to round up partiers and throw them in the slammer for a night, as some drunk drivers like to believe. The campaign is meant to act as a deterrent for drunk drivers. Those who drink at a venue must know that they must either call a cab, get a friend to drop them home, take public transport or sleep it off at the venue. If they decide to drive home under the influence, there is a very high likelihood they will be caught and arrested.

Published on: April 6, 2009

Student in Fatal Cobb County Drunk Driving Accident Intoxicated During Crash

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The toxicology report of a Cobb County high school student who was killed in a car accident in January has confirmed that he had a blood alcohol level of .133 at the time of the crash.

16-year-old Garrett Reed was killed on January 24^th in a collision with another car. Reed had been drinking for several hours before the crash, and before he left his friend’s home in his car, he told him that he was drunk, but was able to drive. As the accident later proved, Reed had been in no condition to drive.

A week after the drunk driving accident, the mother of one of Reed’s classmates Kecia Evangela Whitfield was arrested on charges of providing alcohol to Reed and his friends. She is awaiting trial in April.