An Allentown man is responsible for a multiple car accident in Bethlehem, PA. A passenger was hospitalized and the driver faces DUI charges. The man was driving with a suspended license and was also brought in for public intoxication the day of his release. An Allentown man is responsible for a multiple car accident in Bethlehem, PA. A passenger was hospitalized and the driver faces DUI charges. The man was driving with a suspended license and was also brought in for public intoxication the day of his release.
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Repeat Offender Facing DUI Charges After Accident Lands Passenger in Hospital

It is no secret that driving under the influence of alcohol is a risky choice that may very well end in an accident or being arrested for DUI. However, scores of Americans continue to do so, putting multiple lives at risk each time they get behind the wheel after drinking.

An Allentown man is facing various traffic and DUI charges after causing a multiple vehicle accident in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The passenger in the drivers’ car was flown to St. Luke’s Hospital, Fountain Hill where she underwent surgery to treat her injuries. The charged man failed to stop at a red light, slamming into the vehicles waiting for the light to change. At the time of the arrest he was seen to be stumbling, slurring his words, and he smelled of alcohol. The drivers’ license had been suspended for a prior DUI charge. The next morning he was released on bail only to appear in court later the same day on charges of public drunkenness.

In 1997 the fatalities due to drunk driving in the United States was equivalent to two fully loaded jetliners crashing with no survivors every week. If this were to happen even once, the public would be furious. Family and friends of the victims would be up in arms to do something, anything, to stop the massive loss of life. Now imagine that only the pilot survived and this pilot went on to crash one jet, then another, then another, with little to no repercussions. This is what often happens with repeat drunk driving offenders.

One out of three drivers arrested or convicted of driving under the influence are repeat offenders. These repeat offenders are more likely to have blood alcohol contents far above the legal limit and are estimated to have driven drunk between 200-2000 times before they were arrested the first time. Most of these drivers have a drinking problem that manifests itself in many ways, drunk driving being one of the deadliest.

There are many laws, programs, and sentencing requirements that have been suggested as ways to deter people from drinking and driving. One study showed that when states lowered their legal BAC from .10% to .08%, alcohol related fatalities dropped by an average of 7%. This translates to 500 lives annually. Lowering the BAC for repeat offenders has been shown to be effective as well. In Maine repeat offenders were restricted to a lower BAC than the rest of the population. In the six years that the acceptable level was dropped to below .05% for repeat offenders, fatalities at the hands of these drivers dropped by 25%. This number is even more impressive when compared with numbers in the rest of New England where a 46% increase in crashes ending in fatality was observed.

On the national level, Section 164 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) mandates that each state have repeat intoxicated driver laws in the books by October 1, 2000. Any states that did not meet the deadline had some of their Federal-aid highway finds redirected into other state safety activities. In October, 2000, as the first bill was nearing its deadline, another mandate was passed and signed by the president. This bill, the Fiscal Year 2001 Transportation Appropriations Bill, required states to pass a 0.08% BAC law by October 2003. If states did not comply they would once again lose highway construction funds. By October 2003, 45 states had passed and enacted the legislation.

Though nationwide mandates may help reduce the numbers of repeat offenders, the real work must be done on the local level. Community based awareness programs and local laws severely restricting repeat offenders driving privileges are two examples of how state and local governments can prevent repeat offences. If you or someone you love has been injured by a drunk driver please call Carroll and Carroll at (570) 882-8683.

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