Bars Are Closed But DUI Arrests Are Up
Bars are closed due to the pandemic but it has not made a dent on the number of DUI arrests. On the contrary, Colorado State Patrol said that impairment-related deaths in the first months of the year were double the same period in 2019. The time frame that state patrol is looking at is the period between January 1 and April 30 which includes the height of the pandemic.
State patrol also said that during this period, alcohol and marijuana-related crashes were up by 32% from last year. The number of fatal DUI crashes also doubled. Brittany Lamb, a crash survivor, cannot understand why crashes happen when bars are not open and people are staying home.
More than 2 decades ago, Lamb was injured in a DUI crash that killed her aunt. Drunk driving has inadvertently claimed more victims when a medical helicopter responding to the crash hit a power line. The pilot was killed including 2 nurses and the driver. A person’s wrong decision will not only affect his life but that of others.
Col. Matthew Packard, chief of Colorado State Patrol assumed that everything will be different with stay-home orders. He thought that there would be fewer tragedies on the road. Overall traffic fatalities were down but injuries and fatalities caused by alcohol and drugs are up. Drunk and drugged driving have not stopped during the pandemic in spite of efforts to remove impaired drivers from the roads.
Franz Lancer, Colorado Executive Director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving believes that the light traffic caused by the pandemic is lulling drivers into a false sense of security. With less traffic on the roads, people are driving faster. When the driver is drunk or drugged, higher rate of speed can be very dangerous. People have the option of spending $20 for an Uber ride instead of $30,000 on DUI.
If you have been arrested for DUI, your best option is to call MyDefence.ca immediately for a lawyer who can help you with the court process. It is for your best interests to hire a DUI lawyer who is knowledgeable of DUI laws in the state because legal matters are complex and extremely stressful.
