Wearing seat belts and using appropriate child restraint systems are, of course, both good ideas. The fact is, however, people do forget or neglect to wear them. According to NHTSA, men between 18 and 34 are the least likely group to wear seat belts when they're in the driver's seat. Buckling up is also less common at night, so be aware that traffic officers will be stepping up their enforcement around the clock.
This year, New Jersey's major focus will be on ticketing passengers caught without seat belts, and that may also be the case in New York. According to New Jersey law enforcement officials, 88 percent of adult drivers and passengers in the front seat wear seat belts in that state -- but only 36 percent of adult back-seat passengers do. Therefore, police departments in New Jersey will definitely be focusing on ticketing passengers without seat belts.
]]> It's not very controversial to encourage seat belt and child safety seat use. A bit more controversial is the idea of local police receiving federal grants to run compliance campaigns. BloombergBusinessweek, for example, recently ran an article pointing out that traffic compliance campaigns like "Click It or Ticket" are extremely lucrative for law enforcement. The magazine spoke with Nebraska's highway safety administrator, who said he expects the campaign to double the number of tickets typically issued, which will generate an additional $350,000 in traffic ticket revenues over the two-week period.Luckily, law enforcement agencies are generally very open about when and where traffic compliance campaigns will be run -- not so people can avoid getting traffic tickets, but so they can remember to "click it." So drive safely, and wear your seat belts.
Source: Time, "Peak Traffic Ticket Season Is Here: Police Pushed to Give More Seat Belt Violation Citations," Brad Tuttle, May 15, 2013
]]>The proposal is not without its detractors, of course. The American Beverage Institute, a lobbying group for the food and beverage industry, called it "ludicrous." But Mothers Against Drunk Driving is withholding support, as well.
"Moving from .08 to .05 would criminalize perfectly responsible behavior," said a spokesperson for the American Beverage Institute after the announcement. "Further restriction of moderate consumption of alcohol by responsible adults prior to driving does nothing to stop hard-core drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel."
]]> MADD seems to be questioning the NTSB’s policy priorities. While it won’t fight the proposal, but by changing in the legal blood alcohol content, one MADD representative said, the agency seems to be “trying to focus on a group of people who are more social drinkers, who haven’t been targeted in a while.”The NTSB has some rational basis for the change. The main reason is that number of drunk driving fatalities -- which account for around 30 percent of all fatal traffic accidents -- appears to be holding steady at around 10,000 a year, after a big drop from an average of 21,000 a year before the blood alcohol level was lowered to .08. Second, most other industrialized countries use .05, and the NTSB says they have much lower rates of drunk driving.
The third reason is statistics. According to the New York Times report, government statistics say drivers with blood alcohol concentrations of .05 are 38 percent more likely to be in accidents than those who did not drink. Of course, the same statistics say that drivers at .08 are 169 percent more likely to crash than non-drinkers.
This is not the NTSB’s only proposal for cracking down on drunk driving. It also favors installing blood alcohol sensors into every car.
What do you think? Is tightening up drunk driving laws the best way to reduce highway fatalities, or is it just a way to sweep harmless social drinkers off the roads and into jail?
Source: The New York Times, "Safety Board Endorses Lower Legal Alcohol Limit for Drivers," Matthew L. Wald, May 14, 2013
]]>According to police, Anderson's car appeared to be swerving before they pulled him over on April 27, although the actual traffic stop was for failing to signal a lane change. Upon pulling him over, police officers subjected him to field sobriety tests, which he reportedly failed. A breath test is said to have registered his blood alcohol content at .194, which would be remarkably high for an average person who was still capable of driving.
]]> This arrest came as a sad shock to many people here in New York. As recently as March 30, the New York Daily News did an inspirational story about Anderson’s work at the Jewish day school. filled with quotes from students about what a wonderful coach he is.Anderson, like most people pulled over for intoxicated driving, has only been charged with a misdemeanor. Four days later, the school sent a terse email to reporters announcing that Anderson has fulfilled his current contract and will not be brought back next year. All his success, admiration and promise were apparently not enough to overcome school officials’ distaste for the criminal charge.
This story shows just how very serious the consequences can be for someone accused of driving drunk. Kenny Anderson, however, has faced challenges before.
“It’s just tough right now,” he told the Daily News. “But you’ll see me around again.”
Source: New York Daily News, "Former Nets guard Kenny Anderson fired from high school coaching job in Florida after DUI," Wayne Coffey, May 4, 2013; South Florida Sun Sentinel, "Ex-NBA star Kenny Anderson fired from Posnack after arrest," Wayne K. Roustan and Dave Brousseau, May 2, 2013
]]>That vendor, Xerox State and Local Solutions, does have a current contract with New York City, although it is unclear whether that contract is for the management of the traffic cameras.
Xerox lost its contract with Baltimore as of Dec. 31 but was kept on for 90 days "to facilitate a smooth transition." Previously, representatives for the company had routinely appeared in court to give evidence, but that ended earlier this month -- leaving prosecutors without what they need to prove their cases. The city says the vendor hasn't provided that evidence to prosecutors directly, while the vendor says it did. Apparently, the city and Xerox are also involved in a payment dispute, although both sides claim that is unrelated.
"If the city is unable to move forward with a case absent information from a vendor, I think it raises the question of who is actually overseeing or running that program," observed a spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
]]> The city also announced that at least 500 red light and speeding tickets had to voided because of a programming glitch with the new vendor's cameras, so it has decided to simply stop issuing tickets until the issues are involved.Baltimore's problem with Xerox points out some long-running issues with the use of cameras to send traffic and speeding tickets -- one that is potentially more important to New York drivers. First, as the AAA spokesperson commented, is it fair to drivers when cities outsource law enforcement and courtroom testimony to vendors?
Second, a number of constitutional scholars argue that receiving traffic tickets via cameras violates drivers' rights privacy and due process rights, in particular the right to confront the witnesses against them. In March, an Ohio judge ruled that they do violate that state's due process guarantee, and both the ACLU and AAA oppose the cameras for similar reasons.
The 6,000 voided tickets will cost the City of Baltimore more than $300,000 in fines, but the city did the right thing. Since traffic and speeding tickets still have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and these could not be, prosecutors were ethically bound not to continue with those cases.
Source: The Baltimore Sun, "City to void more than 6,000 camera tickets," Scott Calvert, April 23, 2013
]]>Celebrities being arrested for DWI is nothing new, although it wasn't Witherspoon but her husband who is accused of driving drunk. According to police reports, however, not only did her husband's Breathalyzer test allegedly come in at .139, but Witherspoon allegedly interfered with the arresting officer and now faces a disorderly conduct charge of her own. Both were jailed briefly and released.
Whenever people are arrested for drunk driving, it can have serious consequences to their reputations and careers and, for professional drivers and certain other people, DWI convictions can end careers. While Witherspoon's husband is a talent agent and won't be barred from his job should he be convicted, the arrest itself has already publicly raised questions about his good judgment -- and hers.
]]> "Jim has always been a big social drinker," an unnamed source told People magazine. "A lot of his job is being social. He's out to lunch or dinner almost every day of the week, schmoozing clients and taking business meetings.""It's embarrassing for him. He'll have to explain himself to his bosses," said a second unidentified source.
Both he and Witherspoon have apologized for the events of that night to the extent possible when being prosecuted. Most of all, the husband regrets bringing such public embarrassment down on his wife, the sources said. The couple, who have a son, are reportedly thinking carefully about how they could salvage the situation.
"No one would be surprised," added a third source, "if [he] goes to rehab."
The pair will apparently be given hearings on the same day, and are currently scheduled for May 22 in Atlanta.
Sources:
The case arose after a Missouri man was pulled over on suspicion of DWI. He refused a Breathalyzer test, but failed several field sobriety tests and was arrested. The highway patrol trooper drove the suspect to a hospital, where the man was forced, handcuffed, to submit to having his blood drawn.
Although the officer might have been able to get a warrant to draw the man's blood, he did not do so. The blood test revealed a blood alcohol content of 0.154 percent, nearly twice the legal limit.
The Missouri courts, however, ruled that the compulsory, warrantless blood draw was a violation of the defendant's Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure by the government. Since the evidence was obtained in violation of his constitutional rights, the government was not allowed to use it to convict him, and his case was overturned. That result was upheld by the Missouri Supreme Court, so the State of Missouri appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
]]> The State of Missouri, joined by the federal government, argued that the fact that alcohol in the blood dissipates over time makes it urgent for law enforcement to be able to collect and stabilize it right away. With such limited time, getting a warrant created a delay that should not be required. The court has ruled in the past that some searches and seizures that would otherwise be considered unreasonable can be excused by urgency or in certain other circumstances.In an 8 to 1 decision, the high court rejected that view. Drawing a person's blood is such a substantial intrusion into their bodily integrity that the dissipation of alcohol is not enough to excuse it. There may be circumstances where a warrant would not be required, but in general a warrant is the basic, reasonable step needed to guarantee citizens' rights are protected.
Source: Associated Press, "Court rejects routine no-warrant DUI blood tests," April 17, 2013
]]>"We want to make it perfectly clear that the state initiatives will have no bearing on the Department of Transportation's regulated drug testing program," that policy notice reads. "The Department of Transportation's Drug and Alcohol Testing Regulation - 49 CFR Part 40 - does not authorize the use of Schedule I drugs, including marijuana, for any reason."
The issue here is that trucking regulations are federal, and carry the force of federal law to supersede state laws on the same subject. So, as long as marijuana remains illegal under federal law, using it will continue to represent a CDL-threatening violation of trucking regulations.
]]> This is true even for truckers who may be prescribed medical marijuana by a physician. Federal law does not recognize the legitimacy of medical marijuana, so it remains illegal for commercial operators. Period.If you do test positive for any amount of THC, you will immediately be prohibited from performing any safety-sensitive function and won't be able to drive commercially until you've gone through an interview, education program and a return-to-duty drug test. Once you're back on the road, you'll have to submit to at least six follow-up drug tests in your first year back. Fail one, and the whole process starts over.
You may have heard that medical review officers are authorized to mark drug tests negative when the drug detected has been prescribed by a doctor. The Justice Department, however, has specifically said that MROs cannot do that for medical marijuana.
So the rule is pretty simple. If you're a commercial driver, it's not legal for you to have any detectible amount of THC in your blood when you're driving, either on the job or on your own time.
Source: Land Line, "Trucking regs trump state laws on marijuana use," David Tanner, April 4, 2013
]]>This year so far, 66 bills have been proposed around the U.S. to regulate the use of traffic cameras, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. As we mentioned in March, there's currently a traffic camera bill under consideration that would allow them on Staten Island.
Not all of those 66 bills are meant to spread the use of photo enforcement systems, however. There are proposals in several states that would prohibit camera-enforcement for traffic violations like speeding, and some would ban them even at red lights. Twelve states have already banned speed cameras and 9 prohibit the use of cameras for either purpose.
]]> Why? For one thing, there's a constitutional issue. All criminal defendants, including those charged with misdemeanors and traffic offenses, have the constitutional right to confront their accusers, which is why police officers have traditionally been required to present tickets to drivers directly and to appear in traffic court.The issue becomes a bit clearer if you consider that traffic cameras focus on the vehicle's license plate, not the identification of the driver, when determining that a violation occurred and sending the ticket. Often enough, when people lent out or shared cars, the ticket was automatically assigned to the owner of the vehicle, not the driver.
So, if spouse A's name was on the title but spouse B was driving when the traffic camera clicked, the ticket automatically went to spouse A -- and it wasn't as simple as spouse B agreeing to pay the fine, because traffic tickets have other consequences, such as the assessment of points and associated insurance increases.
Spouse A could appeal, but you're not supposed to have to appeal when the government has no proof that you are personally guilty of a crime.
Other opponents of the cameras point out that the evidence is mixed at best as to whether they improve traffic safety. A 2008 study in the journal "Florida Public Health Review" actually found that they caused more accidents -- and more serious accidents -- than before.
Still, a New York Times FOIA request found that, in Washington, D.C., a single speed enforcement camera on New York Avenue generated over $11 million in only two years. So, if we're willing to prioritize city revenues over the rights of traffic defendants, traffic cameras are likely here to stay.
Source: The New York Times, "Traffic Cameras Draw More Scrutiny by States," Emmarie Huetteman, April 1, 2013
]]>Cuomo's goal was to crack down on traffic accidents caused by excessive speeding. His original proposal would also have assigned more points to the licenses of those convicted of speeding more than 20 mph over the limit, but lawmakers did not pass that part of his plan.
While Cuomo insists the plan is all about traffic safety, opponents of the measure accuse him of trying to sneak a new tax into the budget. It is estimated that the new surcharges will bring $25 million a year into the state's general fund.
]]> Cuomo's budget spokesperson argues that, all too often, traffic judges end up giving speeders a mere slap on the wrist. To help make sure they don't, he announced plans to make sure judges are provided with the driving histories of everyone brought before them on speeding tickets. He did not elaborate on the plan, however.The state's fiscal year begins on April 1 and, assuming the budget bill passes, the new speeding ticket plea bargain surcharges would go into effect on that date. The final version of the bill was completed in the pre-dawn hours this morning, and deliberations begin tomorrow.
Source: New York Post, "Gov's new 'fast' tax: surcharge on speeders in state budget," Erik Kriss, March 27, 2013
]]>The main reason, a police source told the New York Post, is to dig up leverage in case the victim decides later not to press charges, as is relatively common in domestic violence situations.
"You're trying to close the case, but your complainant becomes uncooperative," the source told the Post. "Your supervisor says, 'Get her in here, and remind her that she has an open warrant,'" the source continued. "They want us to use that as leverage to force them to remain cooperative."
]]> If the idea is that a cooperative victim wouldn't be arrested on an open traffic warrant, however, that has apparently not been communicated to all NYPD officers. According to another anonymous police source quoted by Reason.com, "You have no choice but to lock them up" if the victims does have a warrant, even if it relates to unpaid traffic tickets.The policy has been highly controversial, even among the police, because it is likely to deter victims of domestic violence from coming forward. "We all think it is insane," a police source told the Post.
"First a woman is abused by her partner, and then she's abused by the NYPD when she turns to them for help? If we gave out knucklehead awards, this would definitely be at the front of the line," said the head of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
The chair of the New York City Council's public safety committee has already asked the chief of detectives to revise the policy. "I believe that a policy that could potentially lead to the arrest of a victim of domestic violence is misguided," he said. "I ask you to reconsider immediately and issue a more targeted policy which makes it clear that the purpose of gathering this information is to better assess the situation and not to make arrests."
A spokesperson for the NYPD insists that doing criminal and traffic warrant checks on both parties is "standard practice and policy . . . to help lead them to the victims' assailants," and that arresting the victims is not required.
Sources:
When cameras pick up upon individuals that are allegedly speeding through these areas, fines of $25 to $50 can be assessed for those individuals reportedly driving the vehicles at the time in excess of 10 to 30 miles per hour over the speed limit. There would be a $100 fine for those reportedly driving more than 30 miles per hour over the limit.
]]> For criminal justice to work correctly, penalties have to be administered in an even-handed and just manner. Equally important, those charged with such violations should have the ability to challenge any evidence brought against them in court.Video footage from a camera or photo-radar ticket prompts can often be taken out of context. A driver may or may not have been speeding when the camera picked the vehicle up. It's sometimes difficult to determine if the speed recorded pertained to the vehicle in question, and a camera will not always demonstrate what the traffic conditions may have been at the time of the incident.
Criminal defense attorneys do make every effort to put evidence into context. These same attorneys will attempt to make sure that every arrest is tried on a case-by-case basis while allowing for their clients to tell their side of the story.
The burden is upon the prosecution and not the driver to demonstrate the speed of the driver, and we cannot automatically assume that technology accurately reflects the behavior of the driver.
Source: SI Live, "Speed camera plan pitched - a good idea, State Island? Vote in our poll," by Michael Sedon, March 12, 2013
Just after midnight on Sunday, police say. the victims were in a taxi because the pregnant wife was feeling early labor pains. An eyewitness claims to have seen a BMW accelerate to possibly 60 mph, swerve around a fire truck, and slam into the taxi. The wreck was catastrophic, killing the couple and forcing the child to be extracted two months early. The child died on Monday morning.
These events have caused a firestorm of controversy here in the city. The New York Post called the defendant's "a wasted life." The leader of the couple's Hasidic community said he should "rot in jail before [he] rot[s] in hell. While he was only arrested for leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, before the charges were determined, the Brooklyn District Attorney openly said he hoped the man would get 25 years to life.
]]> The 44-year-old father of two with an 11th grade education, and who lives with his mother, does have a couple of points in his favor, though. A few days after the crash, he said he would seek an attorney and turn himself in. He didn't have to do that -- police said they were pursuing leads in several states but they had not found him. He did not know that the infant had died before seeing it on the news.He claims that someone shot at his car just before the wreck, which is what caused him to speed up and change lanes to evade pursuit. (Police dispute that account.) Also, the driver of the taxi may have failed to stop at a stop sign.
Most important, he claims it was an accident. While we can all agree that this was a heartrending loss, it's hard not to wonder if the man's history of alleged criminal behavior is the real cause of the public's outrage. Tragically, as his defense attorney pointed out, "People die in car accidents every day. It happens ... Wrong place, wrong time."
He is now being held without bail on three counts each of criminally negligent homicide, vehicular assault and leaving the scene of an accident.
Sources:
One interesting aspect of this story is how the man was caught. According to the Ulster County Sheriff's Office, deputies now have in-car license plate readers that are constantly scanning the plates of nearby cars and can beep an alert when they hit upon a plate that corresponds to an entry in a suspended or revoked licenses file. Who knew that the police were now able to determine your driver's license status without even pulling up your information?
It's a good reminder for those who have unresolved driver's license issues with the State of New York. There might have been a day when drivers could take the chance that they could continue driving and not be caught unless they committed a new traffic violation. Those days are over.
]]> Technological advances in law enforcement technology are becoming increasingly common in our lives. From Breathalyzers to ignition interlock devices to the proposed in-car air-alcohol measurement device called DADSS, law enforcement and prevention technologies have developed quickly and have been implemented across the nation. That said, such technologies are sometimes controversial. It is unlikely that a successful challenge could be brought against the use of license plate reader, since license plates are both required and on public display, but privacy concerns remain.The Mount Marion man has been charged with numerous traffic offenses:
He was released on $5,000 bail and ordered to return the Town of Ulster Court for his hearing. Hopefully, he didn't drive.
Source: Saugerties Post Star, "Sheriff's car triggers alert resulting in arrest of Mount Marion man," Feb. 18, 2013
]]>"Yes ma'am," he replied.
Diehl was arrested for DWI last June after he smashed his black BMW into two parked cars. He pled guilty last Wednesday after working out a negotiated plea agreement.
As part of that plea bargain, Diehl was ordered to wear a relatively new alcohol control device called a "Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor," or SCRAM for the next three months. A SCRAM is an ankle bracelet with a Breathalyzer-like device that monitors alcohol consumption, but instead of reading breath, it reads perspiration. The information can then be uploaded to probation agents via an onboard modem.
]]> SCRAM bracelets are becoming a common feature of DWI treatment courts in New York and nationwide. One its main purposes, said the head of the vehicular crimes prosecution bureau in the Bronx last year, is to help people with drinking problems see how much their addiction is damaging their lives. "It allows them to realize they can live without alcohol," he told the New York Times in a 2010 interview. "The cloud of alcohol abuse lifts."According to police, Diehl's blood-alcohol content after his arrest was .182. His plea deal also obligates him to complete two drunk driving programs and pay restitution to the owners of the two parked cars he damaged -- $1,200, in addition to any fines and costs he may be assessed. He also can't drive or apply for a new driver's license.
Once he has completed the drunk driving programs and paid the restitution, his sentence of a 90-day conditional discharge will become official. That means that if he does not violate his probation, the DWI charges against him would be dropped.
"Sir, please don't drink and drive. Look what happened here. You could have been seriously hurt," the judge told him.
Source: New York Post, "Pickled pigskin: Giant Diehl gets booze bling after DWI plea," Christina Carrega and Bob Fredericks, Feb. 13, 2013
]]>That is what happened recently in Oneida County, when that county's District Attorney's Office and officers from the task force -- along with some from the Rome Police Department and the New York Mills Police Department for good measure -- went on a round-up. The called the sweep "Operation Personal Accountability" and they arrested 11 people they claim never paid their fines. They also collected more than $5,000 in delinquent fines, according to reports.
Here in New York, the fines for felony-level DWI can be exceedingly costly. You can be charged with a felony for a second offense of any of these charges:
]]>The fines can go as high as $5,000 for a second offense, not including any mandatory conviction surcharge and a crime victims' assistance fee that may apply. For a third offense or more, the fines go up to $10,000.
The fine isn't the end of the penalties either. On top of losing your driver's license, being ordered to install an expensive ignition-interlock device on your car, and skyrocketing insurance rates, you could be facing up to 7 years in jail.
The fact is, the consequences of a DWI conviction in New York can be brutal. If you're ever arrested for DWI -- even if it's a misdemeanor -- you need skilled legal counsel. Even if you think you're guilty, don't just plead guilty on your own. A DWI attorney can help you minimize the damage to your life and your wallet.
Source: Utica Observer-Dispatch, "11 arrested, $5,000 collected in unpaid DWI fine sweep," Feb. 7, 2013
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