The Dangers of Repeat DUI Offenders Who Cause Drunk Driving Crashes in Delaware
At the law firm of Silverman McDonald & Friedman, we represent Delaware residents who have been injured in traffic crashes caused by drunk drivers and other reckless drivers. We are here to make sure that you get the compensation you deserve. You are welcome to call us and schedule a free consultation to discuss your case today at one of our locations in Wilmington, Newark or Seaford.
If you want to guarantee a little public outrage, talk about repeat DUI offenders that cause traffic crashes, injuries and death. Law abiding citizens who drive the roads and highways of this country feel plagued by the hidden danger of encountering a drunk driver on the road. You can avoid driving in bad weather, you can make sure that your vehicle is maintained in safe condition, obey the speed limit and do not allow distractions to take your attention away from the task of driving, but you cannot prevent an encounter with a drunk driver.
Drunk driving is one of those causes of traffic crashes that is completely preventable. Getting behind the wheel and driving when you have had too much to drink is reckless behavior that puts the driver and other lives in danger needlessly. In Delaware there have been 427 deaths caused by drunk driving between 2003 and 2012. The rate of deaths by age per 100,000 population in 2012 was 6.7 for drivers age 21-34 nationally and 4.0 for Delaware drivers age 35+. The national average for reporting driving after drinking too much was 1.9 percent and 2.7 percent for Delaware according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
In an egregious example of an accident caused by a repeat DUI offender, on Friday the 13th, a Wilmington man faced drunk driving charges for the seventh time after he caused a crash that caused injury to himself and two other people. The 46-year-old male drunk driver rear-ended another vehicle that was driven by an 18-year-old woman and pushed her vehicle into oncoming traffic where it struck another car head-on. The male drunk driver’s vehicle kept moving after the rear-end crash and eventually hit a light pole. The drivers of the other two vehicles were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries as was the driver who caused the crash. He is being charged with DUI, reckless driving, second-degree vehicular assault and other traffic offenses according to police in a report on 6abc.com.
Strategies for drunk driving prevention
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) reports that in 2014 there were 49 drunk driving fatalities, which represented 40.5 percent of all traffic deaths and a 28.9 percent increase over the previous year, 672 alcohol-related traffic crash injuries, 2,865 DUI arrests. There are 8,357 3 time DUI offenders and 1,705 5 time DUI offenders in Delaware.
Delaware became the 24th state in the U.S. to enact an all-offender DUI ignition interlock device law, which should cause a reduction in drunk driving deaths caused by repeat offenders.
The Guide to Community Preventive Services, the State Highway Safety Offices and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommend prevention strategies such as zero tolerance DUI laws for drivers under age 21, which would make it illegal for them to drive with any amount of alcohol in their system, sobriety checkpoints which allow law enforcement to stop vehicles and see if drivers are impaired, license revocation and suspension laws for drivers who refuse testing and who test above the legal BAC limit, mass media campaigns and other opportunities to remind drivers of the danger of drinking and driving.
Please give us a call us at 302.414.5553 or fill out our quick contact form to schedule a free case review to discuss your car crash case. The law firm of Silverman, McDonald & Friedman is conveniently located in Newark, Seaford and Wilmington and we are proud to serve clients throughout Delaware.
Attorney Jeffrey S. Friedman joined Silverman, McDonald & Friedman in 2001. He graduated from Widener University School of Law, and is admitted to practice law in Delaware and Pennsylvania, and in several Federal Circuit courts. He areas of concentration include auto accident and workers’ compensation cases. Read more about Attorney Friedman here.