Alcohol-related accidents are one of the leading causes of death in all fatal car accidents. However, it is not uncommon for an innocent driver to be “deemed” guilty when he was actually innocent just because he had a couple of drinks.
Drinking and driving, for obvious reasons, don’t mix. The state of Nevada makes it illegal to drink and drive with a BAC of 0.08% or more for drivers over the age of 21. However, that doesn’t mean someone can’t have a drink or two at a bar or restaurant. and still be below the legal limit.
It is not clear or precise how much someone has to drink to be legally “intoxicated.” Factors such as gender, height, and weight affect a person’s blood alcohol concentration. So it’s possible for a person to enjoy a glass or wine or two at dinner and drive home with a legal level of alcohol in their bloodstream; people do it all the time.
If that person, however, had six or seven glasses of wine on an empty stomach, the picture would be quite different. If they were to get behind the wheel of a car with a high BAC, the chances of them getting into a serious car accident are much higher than if they had been driving sober. Without a doubt, they would be putting their own lives and the lives of others at risk.
How much then is too much? No one can really answer that question. The safest answer is not to drink and drive, but actually, people do. Because drunk driving accidents pose such a serious threat to society, law enforcement and legislatures are cracking down on drunk drivers across the country. Individuals convicted of drunk driving risk driver’s license suspension or revocation, jail or prison sentences, community service, and monetary fines. On top of all that, they could be required to install an ignition interlock device and face mandatory enrollment in an alcohol treatment program.
In addition to administrative penalties, drunk driving convictions carry criminal charges. Although most drunk
while driving convictions are prosecuted as misdemeanors, more serious cases, such as third-time convictions or DUIs involving bodily injury or death, are prosecuted as felonies in Nevada.
This means that if someone was injured or killed as a result of a drunk driver, the person responsible (ie the drunk driver) could face serious consequences. In the state of Nevada, DUI causing bodily injury or death is punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison and fines ranging from $2,000 to $5,000. This is quite discouraging considering the fact that most people charged with DUIs are usually law-abiding citizens, not criminals.
The unfortunate thing to keep in mind when discussing bodily injury DUI accidents is that in some cases, the person who had a drink or two did not cause the accident. For example, a husband and wife are driving home from dinner in their van, the husband (driver) had two beers at the restaurant an hour and a half earlier. As he drives to his house, a small compact car runs through a stop sign and crashes into his SUV, killing the passenger inside the compact car.
When the police arrive, they notice the smell of alcohol on the husband’s breath. Even though he did not cause the accident, the police are quick to blame him because there is no evidence to the contrary. He is slapped with DUI injuries before he can explain the case to him. Even though he had the right of way, he ends up facing criminal charges anyway.
In this case, it would be up to a tough DUI attorney to prove your innocence. If this example sounds all too familiar, you should contact a DUI attorney before it’s too late. You don’t want to jeopardize her freedom by hiring an inexperienced or weak defense attorney. A good attorney can make a difference in the final outcome of the charges against you.
