DUI Checkpoints: Advertise or Surprise? The goal of DUI checkpoints is primarily deterrence: to raise the perceived risk of arrest, and secondarily to enforce drunk and impaired driving laws. Checkpoint information such as location and time is often highly publicized in the targeted areas using High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) tactics to promote compliance with the law. But, not all agencies and
In Best Known “Pot” State, Most Impaired Driving Still Linked to Alcohol When Colorado became the first U.S. state to permit the sale of recreational marijuana in 2014, some expressed concerns that the state would see a huge spike in drug-impaired driving. Four years later, the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice reports that cannabis alone accounts for about 6% of DUIs, while
Need a Sober Ride Home? There’s An App For That In 2016, nearly half of all drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes were between the ages of 16 and 34. And according to the Pew Research Center, more than 90% of Americans in that age group own a smartphone. Two mobile apps are tapping into those overlapping demographics to target
Flexible Sobriety Checkpoints Are A Low-Cost Tactic For Deterring DUIs On a Saturday night last month, a sobriety checkpoint in Harrisburg, PA stopped 475 vehicles. But for all their efforts, police in Dauphin County made only two DUI arrests. At that same checkpoint location in 2015, 300 vehicles where stopped and 24 arrests were made. Sobriety checkpoints have long served
4 Activities to Avoid If You Plan to Drink this 4th of July From California to Maine, people will soon be gathering in parks and backyards to celebrate Independence Day. For many, the holiday isn’t complete without a few beers, a festive cocktail, or a couple of glasses of wine. And while alcohol and July 4th celebrations may go together
When It Comes To Boating, Alcohol and Water Don’t Mix With summertime boating season underway, it’s important to remember that impaired driving isn’t limited to the roadways. Boating under the influence (BUI) is just as dangerous as drunk driving and it’s illegal in all 50 states. The Dangers of BUI According to the U.S. Coast Guard, alcohol is the leading contributing
“No Refusal” DUI Policies: Time Is A Factor During a drunk-driving traffic stop or following a crash, time is a critical factor when it comes to accurately determining a driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Because the human body rapidly metabolizes consumed alcohol, if too much time passes between the initial stop and the administration of a BAC test, the results
Tennessee Proposes Banning DUI Offenders From Purchasing Alcohol Tennessee lawmakers are looking to significantly limit the access to alcohol for anyone convicted of a DUI. Sponsored by Rep. Bud Hulsey and Sen. Frank Niceley, House Bill 1698 would require convicted drunk drivers to forfeit their privilege to purchase alcohol for a specified period of time. According to the National Highway
Tennessee Court Says DUI Testing Fees Unconstitutional For eight years, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has collected a $250 fee for blood and breath tests from individuals convicted of drunk driving. In a move that could change how DUI cases in Tennessee are prosecuted, the Court of Criminal Appeals in Knoxville recently struck down this practice as unconstitutional. The
Report Calls for Higher Taxes, Lower BAC to Reduce DWI Deaths In January the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released “Getting to zero alcohol-impaired driving fatalities: A comprehensive approach to a persistent problem.” The consensus report—produced by an interdisciplinary committee of researchers in public health, medicine, policy, and health sciences and supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety