New Drunk Driving Laws | Seattle Fatal Accident Attorney

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As a personal injury attorney in Renton, Washington working with serious Seattle auto accident cases I am sickened by the number of drunk drivers hitting the streets. Drunk driving has been a serious problem since the car was first introduced and through the years the government has altered laws and penalties to try to curtail this dangerous behavior.

In spite of all of the laws created over the last 100 years drunk driving continues to claim the lives of thousands every single year. In recent years individual states have been cracking down on DUI’s, increasing penalties such as requiring ignition interlock devices, and stiffer penalties for multiple offenders. The newest push for road safety is a “no refusal policy” which the Washington State government is promoting. This policy would allow police to get search warrants for blood samples from those that refuse to take a breathalyzer test. This policy is currently being used by some other states.

Though the progression in DUI laws has made a difference in the number of fatal drunk driving accidents still every year thousands are killed in DUI accidents. Amazingly, in spite of the United States having a higher drinking age than most other countries we also have a dramatically higher number of fatal drunk driving accidents. In Australia and Great Britain check points are used to stop drunk drivers before they cause fatal auto accidents and a breath test is mandatory- it is a criminal offense to refuse. In Germany, the legal BAC level is 0.05 and imprisonment is a very real consequence for a drunk driver on their first offense.

Though this push for enforcing BAC checks is a step in the right direction our government needs to take a lesson from the European countries and create stricter consequences for DUI’s. In the meantime, please think twice before driving intoxicated- 40% of all fatal auto accidents are caused by drunk drivers- don’t be a statistic.

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