Here are some interesting highlights from the 2009 DMV Annual Report

Alcohol-involved traffic fatalities decreased by 6.8% in 2007, for the first time after eight years of a continuous rising trend.

Drug-involved fatalities declined for the second consecutive year (by 12.8% in 2007), but still reflect an increase of almost 200% in the past decade, from 253 in 1997 t749 in 2007

The number of persons injured in alcohol-involved crashes decreased slightly by 1.0% in 2007, following a slight increase of 0.9% in 2006.
DUI arrests increased by 3.4% in 2007, following an increase of 9.4% in 2006, and a decrease of 0.4% in 2005.

The DUI arrest rate rose by 1.6% in 2007, yet still represents a 7.5% reduction from the arrest rate in 1997.

15.5% of all 2006 DUI arrests were associated with a reported traffic crash, compared t15.8% in 2005. 6.3% of 2006 DUI arrests were associated with crashes involving injuries or fatalities, slightly lower than 6.6% in 2005.

Among 2007 DUI arrestees, Hispanics (45.9%) again constituted the largest racial/ethnic group, as they have each year since 1992 (with the exception of 1999). Hispanics continued tbe arrested at a rate substantially higher than their estimated percentage of California’s adult population (35.8% in 2007).

The median (midpoint) age of an arrested DUI offender in 2007 was 30 years. Less than 1% of arrested DUI offenders were juveniles (under age 18).

Among convicted DUI offenders arrested in 2006, 73.5% were first offenders and 26.5% were repeat offenders (one or more prior convictions within the previous ten years). The proportion of repeat offenders has decreased considerably since 1989, when it stood at 37%.

The median blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of a convicted DUI offender, as reported by law enforcement on Administrative Per Se (APS) forms, was 0.15% in 2006, same as last year, yet almost double the California illegal per se BAC limit of 0.08% .

9.4% of 2006 DUI arrest cases did not show any corresponding conviction on DMV records, which is a decrease from 10.3% in 2005.

Source: www.ots.ca.gov

NEWS: October 1, 2009

The San Francisco Bay Area DUI law office of Aaron Bortel is NOW available to handle all DUI and DWI in San Mateo, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Alameda counties.

If you’ve been arrested in any of these bay area counties, top lawyer help is available, with a free case evaluation.

3 Tips for people arrested for a DUI in the Bay Area.

1. Remain calm during the stop.
2. Keep hands on the steering wheel as the officer approaches your car.
3. If asked to perform any type of roadside sobriety tests, politely refuse, as it is within your rights to refuse.
4. Contact the DUI lawyers at the Bortel Law Office as soon as possible.

San Francisco DUI Lawyer

In our best year, 1983, 1.9 million drivers were arrested for driving while impaired (DWI) in the United States. This number represented approximately 1 percent of the Nation’s total licensed drivers.

This was a significant increase over the 197Os, when only about one-half of 1 percent of licensed drivers were arrested for DWI each year.

Still, it is not enough. Speaking a decade ago, Borkenstein (1975) noted that Roadside surveys of the occurrence of alcohol in the driving public have shown that when enforcement is at the current level of 2 arrests per officer per year, and with automobile density what it is in the average congested city today, there are about 2,000 violations for each arrest.

A “violation” is a trip from one point to another with a blood alcohol concentration of .lO percent or higher; thus, in a typical community of 1 million population, with 1,000 patrol officers making two arrests per man per year, there will be 2,ooO arrests and 4 million violations.

Since Borkenstein made that statement, the percentage of licensed drivers arrested for DUI has doubled and, therefore, the ratio of violations to arrests may now be down to 1,000 to one.

Indeed, two studies suggested that where intensive enforcement is applied, the violation-to-arrest ratio can be reduced to approximately 300 to one (Beitelet al. 1975; Hause et al. 1982).

These higher arrest rates, which are not typical of the enforcement level of the country as a whole, have been shown to produce small reductions in alcohol-related accidents (Voas and Hause 1987).

DWI arrests nationally rose significantly from 1979 to 1983; the proportion of highway fatalities that were alcohol-related dropped 10 to 15 percent from 1982 to 1986. The extent to which this increase in arrests contributed to the subsequent decrease in alcohol-related fatalities is difficult to determine.

The increase probably contributed as one element in a larger complex of factors that included citizen activist programs, alcohol legislation, and increased public interest in health and safety (Howland 1988).

Regardless, a doubling of the total number of arrests has had, at best, a modest effect on the alcohol-related casualty rate.

Luckily, deterrence of drunk driving is not determined by the absolute number of arrests but by the public’s perception of the probability of being arrested (Ross 1984). While it may be generally true that the more arrests made, the more the public will bedeterred, there is no precise relationship between the number of arrests and the extent of deterrence.

Aaron R. Bortel is a well-known and respected San Francisco DUI Lawyer, practicing throughout the Bay area. Mr. Bortel has dedicated his legal practice to the defense of persons accused of driving under the influence of alcohol and or drugs.

For a Free Consultation Call Toll Free at 1-888-373-8000

Source
Robert B. Voas, Ph.D.
Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERkf)
John H. Lacey, Ph.D.
The Universiy of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center

According to CHP, the number of arrests for DUI in the Bay Area from 6PM Wednesday, December 31 2008 to 6AM Thursday January 1, 2009 is double the number from the same period last year.  This year there were 84 Drunk Driving arrests in the San Francisco Bay Area, compared to 41 Drunk Driving arrests made over the same 12 hour period last year. 

As we enter the new year CHP and local police forces have been setting up sobriety checkpoints all over the Bay Area.  Most DUI arrests at checkpoints go unchallenged in Court.  This lack of challenge to these warrantless stops has resulted in officers going beyond what the courts have authorized them to do at checkpoints. 

 On two recent occasions I have challenged sobriety checkpoint arrests in San Francisco and won.  On both occasions the Court has agreed with me and granted the motions to suppress the evidence against my clients.   About two weeks ago the Court was outraged by the police conduct at at one of these checkpoints.  At least half the rules governing the checkpoint were not met and the 20-30 officers assigned to the checkpoint made only one DUI arrest all night (arresting my client).   After the court tossed that arrest, we have well over 100 police hours, much of it probably overtime, and no DUI convictions to show for it.  What did that cost the city and state?

 If you have been arrested at a Sobriety Checkpoint for Drunk Driving this holiday season, hire a DUI lawyer who has won one of these cases recently and assert your constitutional rights.  Another law office besides the Law Offices of Aaron Bortel that has had success with these illegal checkpoints is the Law Offices of Kapsack and Bair. 

Here are some new laws going into effect in 2009:

Texting While Driving - (SB 28)  This new law makes it an infraction to write, send, OR EVEN READ, text-based communication on an electronic wireless communications device (put away that iPhone, Blackberry, or any cell phone that can text) while driving a motor vehicle.  The old law prohibited this if you were under 18.  Now it applies to EVERYONE.  Play it safe if you must check a message.  Pull over in a safe legal parking spot and turn off the car if you must check a text message before you get to your destination.  In California the courts have been letting police officers approach vehicles for almost any reason (even if there is no vehicle code violation).  This new law gives them another excuse to get you out of your car and start a Drunk Driving (DUI) investigation. 

Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Zero Tolerance-  (AB 1165) This new law prohibits someone already convicted of DUI from driving with a blood alcohol level (BAC) of .01 percent or higher while on probation for DUI.  If pulled over while on probation for DUI, one must take a Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) test.  This is the hand held breath test that most officers have in the field with them.  If you refuse this test or are above a .01 BAC, you will be cited, have your license taken and suspended (better get a good DUI lawyer), and your car gets impounded.

If you are currently on probation for DUI and do not remember how long or when it started, most first offense DUI probations the Bay Area and Northern California last for three years from the date of conviction.   There are some counties such as Napa that require a 5 year probation on a first DUI offense.  

Since the PAS breath machines are less reliable than the more expensive evidential models at the police stations, this type of offense can be fought and even won in situations where the machines are not properly calibrated.  For years many police departments have not kept up with the regular calibrations required for PAS devices (every 10 days). 

These PAS machines can give you a reading of .01 BAC or higher for things like mouth wash, breath strips, soy sauce, and white bread.   Remember, there is alcohol in cough syrup, enough to possibly get you to or above the .01 BAC.  There are many possible defenses to this new law, but the best one is to be smart.  If charged with this offense, GET A GOOD DUI LAWYER.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The number of drivers arrested for DUI over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is down slightly from last year.

The California Highway Patrol reports that 202 drivers have been arrested for driving under the influence as of 6 a.m. Sunday morning. That’s down from 207 DUI arrests over the same time period last year.

Statewide 1, 397 drivers have been arrested for California DUI’s which is a drop of 100 from last year.

I haven’t posted here in a while but thought this would be a good topic to kick start a few new posts. This story is out of Indiana regarding a person who is serving a 28 year prison term from a drunk driving accident. But it goes to show, you can still change your life around, no matter what the circumstances are.

This week is Alcohol Awareness Week at the Mary-of-the-Woods College and Brandon Robinson is taking advantage of this time. He received a 28-year prison sentence after he was charged and found guilty of operating a vehicle while intoxicated which caused death and bodily harm. He is visiting this college campus to talk about his experience.

When Robinson was 18 he went through a stop sign causing him to crash into a truck. He killed three people in this accident..

Since he has been convicted he has spoken to 20,000 people about his story. He always stresses the importance of making the right decision before getting into a car. This is the third time he’s been to this same campus to speak. They asked him back because they felt that the students really connected with him and his message.

Jeff Malloy is the director of campus life and is the one that invited Robinson back. Malloy said “Brandon does a phenomenal job connecting with our students and educating them on the consequences of drinking and driving. He makes it very clear that the only real difference between him and our students was one accident that changed the course of his life.”

Examiner – A San Francisco man died early Saturday morning after a suspected drunken driver made an unsafe lane change and rear-ended the man’s motorcycle on the Bay Bridge, the California Highway Patrol said.

Ryan Willis Jones, 30, was headed eastbound in the tunnel just west of Treasure Island around 5 a.m. when he was knocked off his 2004 Harley-Davidson, the CHP said.

Jones was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital and died from his injuries less than one hour later, according to the San Francisco medical examiner.

Daniel Olivera, 31, of Oakland, was the driver of the 1998 Saab that struck Jones’ motorcycle, the CHP said. He was allegedly intoxicated and speeding when he made an “unsafe” lane change, causing the collision, the investigating officer said.