Articles Posted in Drunk Driving Accidents

A UCSD study has confirmed what all of us instinctively know – there is no amount of drinks (of the alcoholic kind) that can be considered safe when driving. The study examined data on 1.5 million fatal car accidents and revealed that alcohol was involved in approximately 34 percent of the accidents. The data allowed researchers to measure the number and severity of accidents involving alcohol starting with those found to have a .01 blood alcohol level. What the study found was not surprising: even drivers with a minimal amount of alcohol in their system are involved in more severe accidents than sober drivers. So-called “buzzed drivers tend to drive faster, are more likely to be improperly seat-belted and are more likely to be the striking vehicle in an accident when compared with non-drinking drivers.”

“Accidents are 36.6 percent more severe even when alcohol was barely detectable in a driver’s blood,” researchers said. Even with a BAC of 0.01, there are 4.33 serious injuries for every non-serious injury versus 3.17 for sober drivers.

The study can be accessed by clicking here.

A five-car accident in Carlsbad triggered by a suspected drunk driver left several people injured. The accident occurred last Thursday, when driver Juan Galvan was speeding on southbound El Camino Real and ran a red light at Tamarack Ave. Galvan broadsided one car, the collided with three others.

Galvan had to be removed from the car by fire fighters, and was suspected as suffering from a broken leg. Five other people involved had minor injuries.

Several more photos of the accident can be found by clicking here.

It was a relatively quiet Fourth of July weekend on San Diego County roadways. Countywide there were 88 arrests for suspicion of driving under the influence, which represents 66 fewer arrests than last year. While that is great news, the story wasn’t the same on North County roads, where 21 people were arrested, an increase of three from the previous year.

The San Diego Sheriff’s Department reported four arrests in Encinitas, San Marcos and Vista each, and the arrest of an intoxicated bicyclist in Solana Beach. Carlsbad only reported on DUI arrest.

Only one serious accident was reported in North County. In Oceanside, a 30-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries when he was ejected from his vehicle after crashing near the intersection of Lake Boulevard and Evening Canyon.

Driving under the influence of alcohol is typically a man’s domain. But a recent study has revealed that over the last decade, injurious or fatal drunk driving accidents involving female drivers has risen sharply in California, and dramatically in San Diego County, where serious injury-causing accidents among females between ages 21 and 24 has increased 124%.

“I was pretty surprised at the magnitude of the increase,” said Stephen Bloch, a researcher with the auto club, whose study is based on 10 years of CHP data. He stressed that men still represent the large majority of alcohol-related crashes.

Click here to read the entire article.