Drinking and driving is a practice that is never accepted in any part of the country. Drinking alcohol causes impairment in nearly all activities you may try to complete, especially your driving skills. In 2009, there were 30,797 cases of crashes, about 9,813 of which were cases of impaired driving; 32% of them involved DUI (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2009).
Unfortunately people still make the mistake of driving impaired in Arizona. Just last week, an off duty police officer endangered his own son’s life. He is now in jail after drunk driving his son to school in Surprise, Arizona. He was charged with an aggravated DUI and endangerment, both felonies.
The 39-year-old police-driver drove his 7-year-old son to school last Wednesday morning while intoxicated (KPHO 4/14/11). He missed a turn, drove on the sidewalk, struck a signal pole, went on to hit another school zone sign and sideswiped a car twice in its rear end.
He was also given a drug test and was found to have a nervous system depressant in his blood. He later denied taking any drugs except that he took a Nyquil the night before, which he claimed was the cause of his grogginess.
There are many types of substances that can affect the way we think, our body’s condition and our capabilities—even legal drugs. If you are taking any medications that could effect your alertness, try to avoid driving or participating in other potentially dangerous activities until you know how it will effect your body. If you have had anything to drink, please do not get behind the wheel—find a designated driver or call a service to get you home safely.
If you are a victim of an Arizona drinking and driving accident, then give us a call at (602) 267-1280 for some advice. We can answer your questions and hopefully help you get the compensation you deserve.
To many people, seatbelt laws are plain and simple. Most citizens know that in the State of Arizona, you are required by law to wear a seatbelt while driving. Not following the law can result in a traffic ticket being issued. Enough said in most cases. But when failure to wear a seatbelt becomes a factor in a personal injury claim, things get a little bit more complicated.
Why Should I Wear a Seatbelt?
Let’s talk about the obvious first. You should always wear your seatbelt. Period. We’ve heard people say that they have a friend or relative who was involved in an accident and says the only reason they are alive is because they were NOT wearing their seatbelt. But we question the accuracy of this kind of statement. Typically, when someone hears this, it comes from a doctor in an emergency room who was not at the scene of the collision, or body shop workers who are not accident reconstruction experts. In other words, these comments are coming from people who are NOT true experts in determining the damages and injuries that resulted from not wearing a seatbelt.
That being said, we do know that there are some cases where people are actually injured more because they were wearing a seatbelt. Seatbelts don’t help every time or save lives in every single accident. But these cases are few and far between – and to suggest that that is a good reason not to wear a seatbelt is just plain silly.
Also, some people argue that wearing a seatbelt is a choice and it’s up to each individual to make that choice and take the risk of suffering a serious injury. At Breyer Law Offices, our experienced Arizona auto accident lawyers have seen many people who have suffered horrible injuries or have had family members killed in car accidents. In some cases, the person injured or killed wasn’t wearing their seatbelt and the tragedy could have been prevented if they’d just strapped themselves in.
The reality of the situation is that seatbelts save lives more often than not. They save lives every hour of every day in Arizona and throughout the country. Wearing a seatbelt is the safe and smart thing to do for many reasons.
The National Transportation Safety Board reported that the bus accident that took the lives of a number of Chinese tourists may have been the bus driver’s fault. There was initial speculation that there may have been something wrong with the door, which distracted the driver, and that “sun glare” also might have blinded the bus driver prior to him losing control. Preliminary investigation found nothing wrong with the door nor did they find any other mechanical problem.
These Chinese tourists were likely enjoying a wonderful occasion and vacation before their bus crashed. It is tragic and extremely unfortunate that lives had to be lost and it is probable that the families of the Chinese tourists involved in this wrongful death accident are unaware of what can be done in terms of seeking compensation for lost wages and other expenses.
As Arizona wrongful death attorneys and personal injury lawyers, we understand that though this case probably does not involve seeking “punitive damages,” the filing of a lawsuit in this situation may very well increase safety for people and perhaps prevent future bus accidents. Since companies are usually in the business to make a profit, the likelihood that the bus company will take safety precautions increases if they are forced to face a lawsuit and they are unlikely to take such measures if there is no threat to their bottom line.
Lives are saved through personal injury lawsuits. Assuming that what happened to this tour bus was preventable, had DW Tour and Charter of San Gabriel, California been exposed to previous lawsuits, they would have been more diligent about safety issues. It is unfortunate but sometimes necessary that companies be threatened with loss of profits in order to safeguard the lives and preclude serious injuries to innocent people.
Should anyone have questions about this bus accident or another serious bus accident, we invite those people to contact us at Breyer Law Offices, P.C. It is necessary that injured parties retain a lawyer from the state in which an accident occurred, or in this case perhaps the state in which the defendant is located, in order for negligent parties to be held responsible for the damages caused.
In September, an article reported that a Yuma woman was killed in a single vehicle car accident. A small bit of justice in this Yuma resident’s wrongful death came in the form of a one year sentence handed down to the driver. The driver, who had previously been arrested for driving under the influence but who had been allowed to keep his driver’s license, was reportedly driving drunk at the time the car accident occurred.
Stories such as this show that more must be done to prevent drunk driving accidents in Arizona.
Personal injury lawyers in Yuma, Scottsdale, Tucson, Phoenix and elsewhere in Arizona know the pain caused by victims of drunk drivers. Not only should drunk drivers be prosecuted in criminal court, but when serious injury or wrongful death occurs as a result of someone driving under the influence, personal injury lawyers should be brought in to ensure that those hurt by their actions are compensated. This can both benefit the survivors and their families and serve as a deterrent for any further drunk driving.
Deciding to bring a wrongful death claim can be difficult and, while we think it is important for families who have lost a loved one to pursue legal means to get compensated in cases like these, we know each family must make a decision based on what is right for them. It is not always necessary nor always in the victim’s best interest to pursue a claim to the fullest extent of the law. Sometimes a lawsuit can add to the grief. That is why it is important for lawyers in drunk driving cases to answer questions and otherwise provide the best information so that the family may decide if it is best for them to pursue a wrongful death or personal injury claim.
We embrace our role as experienced personal injury trial lawyers not just in successfully pursuing defendants on behalf of our clients, but also in helping the families who have lost a loved one in an Arizona wrongful death car accident get their questions answered so they can decide whether or not they wish to pursue any type of lawsuit or personal injury claim.
At Breyer Law Offices, we are here not only to effectively pursue compensation after an Arizona wrongful death car accident, but also to help the families decide whether any type of lawsuit or personal injury claim is right for them.
