Feds Commend Use of Tough Drunk Driving Strategy during Holiday Crackdown in States Like Georgia
If you are out celebrating for the holidays and are thinking about taking a chance and driving home, you may find yourself subject to an aggressive new enforcement tool being used to curtail drunk driving during the holiday season. The U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced a new drunk driving enforcement policy that will be used as it begins its annual "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest." holiday season crackdown on drunk driving.
The tough enforcement tool that many states are using is called the "No Refusal" strategy. This law enforcement strategy permits police officers to rapidly obtain warrants authorizing blood tests from judges who are on call from those stopped for driving under the influence of alcohol who refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test. While drunk driving often leads to serious car wrecks resulting in catastrophic injuries and fatalities, it is also a way to get an express pass to jail during the holidays. At Montlick and Associates, Attorneys at Law, we have been representing drunk driving accident victims throughout the Atlanta area and ALL of Georgia for over 39 years.
While drunk driving arrests spike during holiday periods, many of those arrested refuse to submit to breathalyzer tests. Eighty-one percent of those stopped for driving under the influence of alcohol in certain states refuse a breathalyzer test. Laws aimed at DUI enforcement are only effective as a deterrent if they result in actual convictions and jail sentences and other penalties. The No Refusal strategy results in more guilty pleas without trials and a higher conviction rate.
It is against the law in all U.S. states and the District of Columbia to drive with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level of .08 or higher. NHTSA data shows that 753 people were killed in fatal drunk driving accidents last year in December alone, and that fatalities increase significantly during the holiday season. Jail or an emergency room is not a place that anyone wants to celebrate the holidays. This tough new drunk driving enforcement tool will hopefully discourage drunk driving and reduce alcohol-related accidents and fatalities. If you or a family member has been seriously injured or killed by a drunk driver, Montlick and Associates, Attorneys at Law, can help you seek compensation for your injuries. Our Georgia drunk driving accident attorneys are available to assist clients throughout all of Georgia, including but not limited to Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Dalton, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller cities and rural areas in the state. Call us today for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or visit us on the web at www.montlick.com. No matter where you are in Georgia, we are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you.