Florida DUI Lawyer Blog

Driving under the influence, or DUI, is one of the most dangerous things a person can do behind the wheel of a car, according to Broward DUI attorney William Moore. DUIs or alcohol-related accidents are responsible for an estimated 16,000 deaths per year in the United States, or close to 40 percent of all traffic related fatalities. Approximately 42,000 people are killed every year in traffic accidents, says Fort Lauderdale DUI attorney Moore, and the overall percentage of traffic deaths caused by alcohol has decreased steadily over the past 25 years (from a high of about 60 percent). The total number of traffic deaths, however, has remained fairly stagnant. One reason may be the other dangerous driving behaviors occurring with alarming frequency on the roads – especially as our day-to-day lives have become even busier and more fast-paced.

There is some evidence that texting while driving is as dangerous, or even more dangerous, than driving under the influence of alcohol. The epidemic of texting while driving was initially a problem affecting teenage drivers, says Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer Moore, but the problem is growing among other segments of the population, as well. Several tragic accidents, both on the road and involving public transport, have been caused by texting and driving at the same time. A recent study also shows that working professionals, such as lawyers, real estate agents, financial brokers, and others are especially guilty of texting and even emailing behind the wheel of their cars. One reason: these fast-paced professionals feel pressure to be available around-the-clock. Their Blackberries and similar mobile devices make it possible, creating the potential for serious accidents – just like DUI can.

Eating while driving at the same time is another culprit, as is talking on the phone while driving. Drivers who are trying to down a Caesar salad or even a sandwich cannot devote their full attention to the road and are more likely to cause traffic accidents. Driving a manual transmission vehicle while eating is especially difficult! Although headset devices (Bluetooth) allow hands-free chatting and driving, the fact remains that the driver is distracted more than he would be under more ideal circumstances. While it is not clear that eating or talking are as dangerous as DUI, they remain problems on our public roads.

Continue reading "Dangerous Driving Behaviors – DUI and Others" »

Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer William Moore represents people accused of criminal traffic offenses, including fleeing and alluding police. Pursuing suspects in car chases is one of the more difficult aspects of law enforcement – and for good reason. While there are entire TV shows and numerous YouTube videos dedicated to exciting car chases, the reality is that they are extremely dangerous ventures. Often, law enforcement officers are forced to abandon the chase early. This is especially true if the suspect has been positively identified, because the police will likely be able to locate the suspect at a later date. They are also less likely to engage in a high speed pursuit if the suspect is not perceived to be exceptionally dangerous – pursuing a suspect who has stolen only a vehicle is much less important than chasing a suspected murderer or someone who has kidnapped a child. The threat to the community is an important consideration, both when evaluating the risk of allowing the suspect to escape and the dangers a high-speed chase poses to other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians on the road. After all, a suspect is likely to flee to a safe location rather than continue driving at very high rates of speed if law enforcement officers are no longer on his tail. Where it appears that the community would be less safe by having a suspect and police vehicles weaving in and out of traffic, and traveling much faster than other vehicles, officers may not pursue the vehicle. Broward DUI lawyer Moore believes police should always exercise their good judgment when evaluating the safety of the community.

In instances where the need to apprehend the suspect is compelling, police will give chase. Police officers are trained to handle these situations in ways that regular drivers or not. For example, law enforcement officers are trained in techniques to wreck their vehicles when necessary or to “butt” the other car with the front end of the police vehicle. Whenever possible, they also lay strips on the road which puncture and deflate a suspect’s tires – thus ending the chase more quickly. Sometimes, fleeing suspects attempt to escape on foot after the vehicle has been disabled, but these attempts are rarely successful.

South Florida police officers pursued a female driver for about 15 minutes on a northbound lane of I-95 this week. Officers have not released details surrounding the reason the chase took place, but the driver was pursued by police in Palm Beach County. Local police attempted to puncture the vehicle’s tires, but the car was eventually involved in a disabling three-vehicle crash. The driver, who is 23, was taken to an area hospital for treatment, while her male passenger, who was 26, was killed in the accident after he was ejected from the vehicle. The driver of an unrelated vehicle who was involved in the accident, as well the police officer whose car was involved, were not seriously injured.

Continue reading "Miami, Fla. – Hot Pursuit on I-95" »

The Broward State Attorney’s Office is reviewing about 200 cases involving driving under the influence charges due to the alleged misconduct of Broward Sheriff’s Deputy Charles E. Grady. Grady was with the Sheriff’s Office for 12 years until he resigned from his position this week. He has been accused of touching women inappropriately during traffic stops. The Sheriff’s Office is investigating and the State Attorney’s Office has filed two misdemeanor battery charges against him stemming from the unwanted touching of two different women he stopped and arrested for DUI. He is to be arraigned on May 13. Grady had been suspended from the force since late last year, when the office began investigating the allegations against him. Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer William Moore expects this case to have far-reaching ramifications.

The first misdemeanor battery charge involves an unidentified woman from Boca Raton, who is 38. Grady stopped her near the strip club where she was employed as a dancer. She was arrested for DUI during the stop in September of last year. Similarly, a Coral Springs woman, who is 20, was stopped by Grady in December. She complained to Fort Lauderdale law enforcement officials that there was “inappropriate contact” by Grady while she was stopped. The Broward Sheriff’s Office has not provided specific details about either incident, saying only that the charge shows that there was apparently “deliberate and unwelcome touching.”

The Broward State Attorney’s Office, however, has commented on the matter, saying that Grady’s resignation and subsequent charges affect over 200 DUI cases currently on the docket. A spokesman said, "Dozens of cases have been affected so far…We have been reviewing each of those cases to determine their strengths and weaknesses with or without his testimony. Some cases have been, or will need to be, dropped."

Al Lamberti, the Broward County Sheriff, expressed his displeasure at the news of Grady’s alleged conduct, saying , "I'm extremely disappointed. It disturbs me when any law enforcement officer is accused of tarnishing the badge."

Broward DUI lawyer William Moore is disappointed to hear of Grady’s conduct. The public places a great deal of trust in law enforcement officers, which should never be abused. The power gap between an officer and the person he pulls over for a late-night traffic stop is especially problematic, as women could be coerced into sexual favors or acquiesce to unwelcome contact under threat of criminal charges. It is not clear whether more charges are pending or if either woman plans to seek civil damages against Grady or the Sheriff’s Office.

Continue reading " Broward DUI Lawyer – Sheriff’s Deputy Accused of Inappropriate Contact with Women" »

Several years ago, Broward residents were reading regularly about the dangers of talking on a cell phone while driving. Fort Lauderdale ticket and DUI attorneys and researchers who studied the subject saw a relationship between the increase in accidents and cell phone usage while driving. In response to widespread concern about road safety, cell phone manufacturers rolled out a slew of products intended to make driving while talking a safer endeavor. Bluetooth devices, which wirelessly connect cell phones to headsets and other external devices, allow a user to talk without holding the phone’s handset. The notion was that the cause of accidents was more related to the driver having full use of only one hand. Nonetheless, further research demonstrated that headset usage does not dramatically improve driving safety. The problem lies in the driver’s distraction when talking on a cell phone much more than holding the phone. Several states have enacted legislation to make talking on a cell phone while driving an offense for which a driver can receive a traffic ticket, although Florida has not taken such steps at this point in time. Nonetheless, road safety and cell phone usage remains a concern for the state legislature to evaluate carefully, despite the high level of public awareness of the dangers. The Florida state legislature considered and rejected a bill to outlaw texting while driving during the last session.

More recently, Broward residents have become concerned about another cell phone-related distraction: text messaging. Once the exclusive domain of tech-savvy teens, text messaging has become mainstream in a relatively short period of time. Texting caught on significantly faster in European nations like Great Britain, but newer, low-cost plans have made it a more widely accessible in the United States in the past few years.

South Florida drivers from West Palm Beach to Miami have embraced texting – but that may include texting while driving. A recent British study found that texting while operating a motor vehicle is more dangerous than driving under the influence of marijuana or alcohol. Drivers are extremely distracted and, since eighty percent of accidents are already caused by distracted drivers, the texting often results in serious accidents. The study found that drivers with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 – the level at which intoxication is presumed for the purposes of a DUI arrest – have their reaction reduced by about 12 percent. Marijuana reduced reaction time by 21 percent. Surprisingly, completely sober drivers who engaged in text messaging showed the most severe reduction in reaction time at 35 percent, a delay nearly three times greater than that caused by alcohol. Interestingly, the study evaluated drivers who wrote or read text messages while operating a motor vehicle – indicating that even reading without pecking out responses may also pose a serious problem. Is the distraction caused by texting really so severe that it trumps DUI? This study indicates that the answer is yes.

Two of the most well-publicized cases involving texting include a 2007 New York car accident that killed five high school girls and the head-on collision of two trains in California in September. In both cases, the operator of the vehicle at fault appeared to have been texting in the moments leading up to the crash. The legislatures of sixteen states, including Louisiana, Minnesota, and Alaska have either enacted or considered total bans on texting while driving. If the findings of the British study are correct, drivers should think hard about putting away their phones.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Ticket Lawyer: Texting While Driving – More Dangerous than DUI? " »

This just in from our Fort Lauderdale Ticket Attorney:
Did you know that Major US cities have been found to have tampered with traffic cameras in order to increase revenue? The length of time that an amber (yellow) light remains illuminated between cycles on a traffic control device varies from state to state. However, when the intersection traffic light is equipped with a camera, the law requires that a specific length of time elapse before shifting from green to red. Nonetheless, several cities throughout the United States have been found to have violated laws in place to protect motorists and have been forced to refund millions of dollars in citation refunds.
Recently, major automotive insurance companies have pushed for a reduction in the length of the amber light. This is following a study out of California where the time for the yellow light is significantly shorter than in Florida. One section of the report rationalizes the time reduction by stating that motorists will be less likely to try and get through an intersection when they know that the light will change before they are able to safely pass.
Often a traffic infraction leads to bigger and more severe problems. Traffic infractions almost always precede a DUI investigation and insurance rates and driving privilege is placed in jeopardy with each additional ticket. For more information on this article, contact William Moore, P.A.

Article contributed by Anne-Marie Kopek