Drunk Driver Injury Accident Lawyer: Drunk Driving Crackdown
PritzkerOlsen, P.A. is a Minnesota law firm that practices exclusively in personal injury law. Our attorneys have been named Minnesota Super Lawyers by Law & Politics magazine, and partner Fred Pritzker is listed in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Call a drunk driver injury accident lawyer at 1-888-377-8900 for a free consultation or submit our online consultation form.
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Drunk Driving Crackdown: Minnesota Legislation Passed
Alcohol-related crashes account for one-third of all Minnesota traffic deaths annually. Minnesotans want change. They want drunk drivers off the roads. Some legislative changes have been made this year in an attempt to crackdown on drunk drivers.
In May, Governor Tim Pawlenty signed legislation to strengthen sanctions against DWI offenders. It would require certain offenders to use ignition interlock devices. The legislation makes it possible for DWI offenders to regain driving privileges by ensuring safe and legal driving through the use of interlocks. Forty-six states have implemented interlock requirements for DWI offenders and research shows that the use of interlocks may reduce repeat DWI offenses by 45 percent to 90 percent.
Once installed in a vehicle, interlock devices require a driver to provide a breath sample in order for the vehicle to start. If the breath test shows an alcohol-concentration level of 0.02 or above the vehicle will not start. The system does have a safe guard in place to deter others from starting the vehicle for the intended user. Highlights of the legislation include:
DWI offenders with a 0.16 and above alcohol-concentration level will be required to have ignition interlock devices installed on any vehicle they drive.
DWI offenders with a 0.16 and above alcohol-concentration level that choose not to use ignition interlocks will not have driving privileges ranging from one year to six years — depending on offense level. Offenders with three or more DWIs in a 10-year period will be required to use interlocks.
Interlock users will regain full driving privileges immediately after the offense, ensuring they are driving with a valid license and not a threat on the roadway.
Interlocks will be used to monitor chronic DWI offenders (three or more DWIs in 10 year period) to verify chemical use.
Drunk Driving Crackdown: Toward Zero Deaths Campaign
In Minnesota, one in seven drivers has a DWI on their driving record. Every year more than 30,000 motorists are arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) is a Minnesota partnership led by the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Health. The Minnesota State Patrol, the Federal Highway Administration, Minnesota county engineers and the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota are also cooperating in this campaign.
Their mission is to create a culture for which traffic fatalities and serious injuries are no longer acceptable. They hope to accomplish this through education, engineering, enforcement (stepped-up DWI enforcement campaigns are key), and emergency medical and trauma services.
Drunk Driver Injury Accident Lawyer
The legislation and TZD campaign sound great on paper, but the issue is and always has been that the penalties have to be harsh enough to be a true deterrent — and they have to be administered. There are too many excuses made, loopholes jumped through and leniency granted gratuitously.
Contact an attorney with PritzkerOlsen, P.A. if you been in a drunk driver injury accident. We have recovered millions for victims of drunk drivers, including a $6,000,000 verdict for a passenger whose right leg was traumatically amputated when the motorcycle on which she was a passenger was struck by a drunk driver. Call 612-338-0202 or 1-888-377-8900.
Tags: auto injury lawyer, hit by a drunk driver MN lawyer, Minnesota personal injury lawyer
