Category: Traffic Crimes
According to an article from examiner.com, a Los Angeles county man was recently taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence and causing an accident. The 23-year-old man is said by police to have been the cause of the accident that involved a reported four other vehicles. Though the man was not said to have been injured in the crash, a 9-year-old girl that was a passenger in the man’s car was seriously injured and died shortly after arriving at a nearby hospital for treatment. The man now faces charges including vehicular manslaughter, DUI, and child endangerment and… Read More
A recent article in The Seattle Times reported on an alarming trend that can have an impact on motorists anywhere in the country, particularly Los Angeles, where commuting via passenger car is as commonplace as taking the subway is in New York. According to the article, the number of women arrested for driving under the influence nationwide rose 28.8% higher in 2007 than it was in 1998. Interestingly enough, the number of men arrested for DUI decreased 7.5% over the same time period, indicating that woman are now more likely to engage in reckless behavior than they ever have been… Read More
According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, both the number of DUI arrests and DUI convictions in the state of California rose during the time period of 2001-2007. In 2001, there were a total of 176,490 DUI arrests in California. In 2007, that number rose to 203,866. As far as convictions go, 2001 boasted 140,440 convictions of DUI in the state of California, while in 2007 there were 153,348 such convictions. Interestingly, while the number of overall arrests and convictions has risen over the years, the percentage of convictions in relation to arrests has actually dropped. In 2001, 80%… Read More
According to the Los Angeles Police Department’s website, “the purpose of the Sobriety/Driver’s License checkpoint is to reduce the number of traffic collisions involving intoxicated and unlicensed drivers through enforcement and public awareness.” For all intensive purposes, sobriety checkpoints are a great addition to the policing of any community. Under ideal circumstances, these checkpoints can reduce the number of alcohol-impaired drivers on the road, thus making it safer for all other motorists. However, it is imperative that these checkpoints are properly maintained, and that innocent drivers are not singled out and punished for infractions relating to Los Angeles DUI offenses… Read More
A recent article in The Miami Herald discussed the long-winded debate over texting and driving, and whether or not texting should be banned altogether. For Californians at least, this debate ended some time ago, with texting while driving now being against the law, just as cell phone usage without a hands-free device is. However, not even half of the states across the country have imposed such rules on texting, despite the fact that there have been numerous studies warning of the dangers involved with driving while being distracted with any task other than simply driving. The article cited a study… Read More
Nevada’s The Record-Courier recently reported about a 50-year-old man who had a previous DUI felony conviction in Los Angeles in 1997, and was recently sentenced again to a second prison term for felony driving under the influence in Gardnerville, Nevada. His blood alcohol content at the time of the crash was .209, about two and a half times the legal limit. The man was sentenced to five years in prison, but could be out on parole as early as two years. Though it was reported that the man had previously sobered up since his last conviction, even attending Alcoholics Anonymous… Read More
According to The Orange County Register, an 18-year old, male from the North Tustin area was recently charged with second–degree murder for crashing his parents’ car, resulting in the loss of life of his 16-year-old, female passenger. The driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash boasting a blood alcohol content of 0.11. His female passenger, though wearing a seatbelt, died from massive, blunt-force trauma. It was reported that the young driver had previously, the very day of the crash, in fact, been warned by a juvenile court judge that driving involved taking on a… Read More
The South Pasadena police department wanted to penalize drivers who were failing to come to a complete stop while school buses were stopped with their flashing red lights on. To catch drivers who were disobeying this law, they set up a sting operation to catch the violators. Now it appears that the tickets they handed out are not valid, according to anarticle in the Los Angeles Times. The $500 a piece citations were handed out by the South Pasadena police department during a sting in which two police cadets walked on and off a school bus parked on Huntington Drive… Read More
Los Angeles Times staff writer Joanna Lin reported that physician Christopher Thomas Thompson, 59 will stand trial in court for reckless driving charges. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Amy D. Hogue heard testimony from Los Angeles police officer Robert Rodriguez and cyclists allegedly involved in separate altercations before ruling on Thompson’s case. Thompson faces felony and misdemeanor reckless driving charges including causing serious injury. Thompson is accused of driving in front of cyclists and then abruptly stopping causing injuries to three bikers. The accidents occurred on a thin stretch of Mandeville Canyon Road a residential road in Brentwood. Officer… Read More
