Maryland Police Make 80 DUI Arrests in Single Weekend

This past weekend saw an absolutely staggering number of drivers arrested across Maryland for drunk and intoxicated driving. Maryland Police are reporting that a total of 80 motorists were arrested for DUI over the course of just one weekend. To make matters worse, a significant number of these incidents did not involve drivers that were just barely over the legal alcohol limit of .08, but rather were severely intoxicated. In many cases, drivers had Blood Alcohol Content readings of nearly twice the legal limit.

Fortunately, these drivers were mostly arrested and charged without incident, and no major accidents or fatal injuries took place. However, any one of these motorists could have easily caused a tragic situation in a matter of moments.

The most troubling incidents that took place over the weekend included one drunk driver that side-swiped a state trooper’s vehicle, completely removing the officer’s side view mirror. Another criminally reckless driver was observed traveling drunk at 94 miles an hour with a seven-year-old child in the back seat. A third motorist was caught driving while drunk twice within the span of only a few hours.

While these are isolated incidents, they are also indicative of a larger and more disturbing trend related to drunk driving. Despite the numerous and admirable programs targeted at preventing and ending the practice of drunk driving, it remains a very real issue in Maryland and across the U.S.

Some of the most recent statistics indicate that:

• In 2013, the most recent year for which full data is available, there were a total of 142 alcohol-related fatalities in Maryland
• 30.5% of all driving fatalities in Maryland were alcohol-related in 2013
• The rate of highly-intoxicated drivers in Maryland, meaning drivers caught with BAC readings of .15 or over, was 71%
• In 2013, the total number of Maryland drivers arrested for DUI was 14,793

Thirteen of the eighty arrests made over the weekend were initiated by the Maryland State Police S.P.I.D.R.E (State Police Impaired Driving Effort) Unit, a special group of State Troopers dedicated to targeting and removing drunk drivers from Maryland’s roads and highways. Founded in July of 2013, this unit focuses on running programs that reduce the amount of alcohol-related crashes in Baltimore.

At The Yost Legal Group, Baltimore Car Accident and Personal Injury law firm, we fully support the efforts of our State and Local Police, as well as organizations that actively work to reduce drunk drivers on our roads and highways. Our attorneys have represented far too many victims and families that had their lives adversely impacted by the negligent, selfish and reckless actions of drunk drivers. This behavior is criminal, and cannot be tolerated in any instance.

If you or a loved one was seriously injured in an accident caused by a drunk driver, call The Yost Legal Group today at 1-800-YOST-LAW (967-8529). When you call our law firm, you will receive a FREE, confidential and no-obligation consultation with one of our experienced Baltimore, Maryland Drunk Driving and Car Accident lawyers. Let the experienced legal team at The Yost Legal Group help provide the answers you seek.

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