Super Bowl Sunday witnessed a surge of DUI activity and arrests – a development that defense attorneys, police officers and public officials anticipated. While Seahawks fans gnashed their teeth and New England cheered, officers across the city (and state and country) set up dragnets and checkpoints to flag down dangerous drivers and get them off the roads.
BACtrack, a breathalyzer attachment that connects with smartphones, cited an average of .091% blood alcohol content (BAC) levels among DUI drivers arrested on Super Bowl Sunday in 2014. That’s roughly the same average BAC as officers typically find among drivers on holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, New Year’s Eve, and Valentine’s Day. BACtrack defines the months from December to March as “drinking season” because they witness “the highest occurrence of days with an average BAC above .06%, the level at which the negative effects of alcohol often begin.”
The popular ride share company Uber, in collaboration with MADD, reported that, “nearly 300,000 people drive drunk every day.” The report, which authorities released right before the Super Bowl, found that the number of DUI driving accidents has decreased substantially in Uber markets: “In California… drunk-driving crashes fell by 60 per month among drivers under 30 in the markets where Uber operates.”
The information from BAC tracking apps — along with the increased use (and ostensible effectiveness) of Uber — indicates an increase in the general public’s DUI awareness. Both Uber and BACtracker offer smartphone apps, transforming mobile devices into valuable tools for maintaining the public safety. In conjunction with DUI checkpoints and educational campaigns, these tools can make drinking safer and less likely to lead to injuries (during future Super Bowl weekends and beyond) as well as raise awareness of critical DUI-related challenges and solutions.
Call our Washington D.C. car accident attorneys about your recent crash to determine whether you might be able to obtain compensation for your injuries and damages.
Drivers who get behind the wheel while intoxicated are not the only threats to motorists. What if, for instance, your car is defective? Learn more here: How to Handle Difficult-to-Replicate Auto Issues: Do You Think You Have a Defective Vehicle?