While representing personal injury and wrongful death clients in Phoenix, Arizona, I frequently see the tragic aftermath of drunk driving and DUI crashes. The legal term for this in Arizona is DUI or Driving Under the Influence. Drunk driving is not a legal term, it is the common saying that describes the drunk or intoxicated driver. In Arizona as in most states, the law now prohibits driving while impaired to the slightest degree, as well as drunk or intoxicated driving.   A DUI is classified as operating a motor vehicle while one's blood alcohol content is above the legal limit set by state. This is supposed to be the limit at which person cannot drive safely. State laws vary, but it ranges from .08 to .10. In Arizona the legal limit is .08. Drunk driving occurs so very frequently. Around 40,000 DUI arrests are made per year in Arizona. Over 1.4 million people are arrested for DUIs around the country according to http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/by_the_numbers/drunk_driving/index.html

Driving under the influence is completely unsafe. Drunk driving accidents account for 31% of fatalities in the U.S. per year. Although drunk driving has become less of a problem as awareness is spread, it is still a major issue. Since this problem can be completely avoided, it has caused major upset from victim's families. Many organizations have been started such as MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, SADD, Students Against Destructive Decisions, and the International Drunk Driving Prevention Association. These organization's goals are to raise money to increase awareness and support victims.

Receiving a DUI reaps serious consequences such as jail time, fines, trouble getting jobs, increased insurance rates, remorse for injuries inflicted on their victims. Some states require additional consequences if your BAC is above .1. According to NHTSA, in 2012, more than 10,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes - one every 51 minutes.  Time of day made a big difference in the likelihood of duis. On Friday, daytime (9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.), early nighttime (10:00 p.m. to midnight), and late nighttime (1 a.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday), only 0.2% of drivers were drunk driving while 1.2% of drivers were under the influence in the early nighttime and 4.8% of drivers had were drunk during the later hours of the night.

Jay L. Ciulla is a Phoenix, Arizona attorney who helps the victims of DUI and drunk driving crashes in personal injury and wrongful death cases.  Call 602 495 0053 for a free initial consultation.