Holiday motorists are being warned about the risks of driving while intoxicated by Santa Clara County police, who have begun a unique anti drunk driving campaign. California drunk driving accident lawyers are always pleased to see law enforcement implement new strategies to hopefully increase awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving.
Recently, a live demonstration was conducted by a Santa Clara county sheriff's captain and a detective, which hopefully will make it clear just how dangerous driving under the influence is.
Captain Chris Forrester and detective Lelica Zazaboi each consumed 4 alcoholic drinks and proceeded to demonstrate how driving under the influence affects you, according to Mercury News. Each got into a car and had to maneuver through a maze of orange cones in front of reporters to prove how difficult driving while drinking actually is. This took place in the Great American parking lot, where Zazaboi meant to put her car into reverse and instead put it in drive. She also knocked over three of the c
ones. Forrester had a blood alcohol content of .11, and Zazaboi's was .086. They were pulled over, administered a field sobriety test and the "handcuffed."
The Sheriff's Department and Santa Clara law enforcement set up the display to start off an anti drunk driving campaign, which is an annual event in the county. Each year, law enforcement agencies crack down hard on driving under the influence in Santa Clara under the Avoid the 13 program. Throughout the Christmas and New Year holidays, police and other officers will be sober and on high alert. This is also a time when sobriety tests are increased, and anyone suspected of drunk driving will be pulled over.
There has been huge success in California with efforts to lower fatality rates caused by drunk driving. The NHTSA provides data showing that in 2008, California drunk driving deaths decreased by over 9 percent. During the same year, over 200,000 people were arrested for DUI in California. Annually in California, there are over 1,000 people killed in accidents involving drunk drivers, where the driver responsible had a blood alcohol level of .08.
The battle is still far from over, and California drunk driving accident attorneys see all too often the devastation caused by drunk drivers. Other than crashes involving speeding, drunk driving accounts for some of the most severe injuries that occur in car accidents. People who drive under the influence often do not realize how impaired their judgment is; they also do not know how their reaction time slows. Injuries are often extremely serious, or even catastrophic.
