Fans Can Tackle Drunk Driving on Super Bowl Sunday

In 2014, nearly half of all American households watched the Super Bowl. This Sunday’s big game is expected to draw a similar number of viewers, and as friends and family gather to watch, alcohol will be a staple of many celebrations.

Police around the country report that drunk driving arrests and alcohol-involved crashes spike on Super Bowl Sunday. For example, California law enforcement historically sees a 77% increase in drunk driving crashes on the big day in comparison to regular Sundays. As a result, many jurisdictions plan to ramp up DUI patrols and checkpoints this weekend.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched its annual “Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk” campaign to get the word out about the dangers of drunk driving during and after the Super Bowl. In addition, NHTSA has created some tips to help fans end the night safely:

Before Super Bowl Sunday, make a game plan that includes a sober driver – someone who is not drinking at all.Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. Designate a sober friend to walk you home.Thank the designated sober drivers at your party. You could even acknowledge them on social media using the hashtag #designateddriver.Remember, if you serve a guest alcohol and he or she gets in a drunk-driving crash that night, you could be held liable.

What are you doing to intercept drunk driving during and after the Super Bowl?

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Super Bowl Sunday: fewer DUIs in Minnesota than previous years

Super Bowl Sunday is an unofficial holiday here in the United States, and as a result, many people take the liberty of enjoying some beers during the biggest football game on the planet. Unfortunately, this can lead to some unfortunate events during Super Bowl Sunday, such as people consuming alcohol and then getting behind the wheel of a car.

In past years in Minnesota, the DUI numbers have not been pretty on Super Bowl Sunday. For example, since 2010, an average of 190 people have been arrested for drinking and driving on Super Bowl Sunday. However, this year it was a much different story.

Only 65 people were arrested for driving under the influence on Super Bowl Sunday, a marked decline from the average numbers posted since 2010. It's also part of a fantastic trend in the state of Minnesota regarding drunk driving overall. 2014 saw about 1,500 fewer DUI arrests than 2013. Public awareness campaigns and the reception by our state's great citizens has led to a dramatic drop in the number of drunk driving cases.

And yet, no amount of public awareness or public knowledge will ever truly eliminate drunk driving from our state. There will always be mistakes made by people who simply have a little too much to drink, think they are okay to drive, and then do so.

While acknowledging this reality, it's also important to acknowledge that people who are accused of drunk driving have rights, and that they are innocent until proven guilty. 

Source: WCCO, "Super Bowl Drunk Driving Arrests Down Significantly In Minnesota," Feb. 2, 2015

Tags: Drunk Driving Charges

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The Top Ten Ways to Avoid a DUI on Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday is known to be one of the biggest drinking nights of the year.  Many people attending Super Bowl parties will start drinking early in the day.  If you plan on celebrating the win or even the loss of your favorite team, here are some of the myths to keep in mind about drinking and driving.  Knowing about them might help you avoid starting the year with a drunken driving arrest.

“Don’t kid yourself,” said Birmingham, Michigan-based DUI attorney Patrick Barone. “If you have too much to drink before you drive, you’re putting yourself at risk for being arrested, or even worse — for hurting yourself or someone else on the roads.”

Here is a countdown of common misconceptions about drinking and driving:

 I’ll eat a lot while I drink. Super Bowl Sunday is known for its creative and usually high fat finger foods. While having some food in your stomach does help slow alcohol absorption, you will still become intoxicated if you drink enough. I planned ahead and have a designated driver. That’s all well and good, but make sure your designated driving doesn’t get swept up in the game. Before you count on the designated driver to get you both home safely, be sure that your driver is on-board and will abstain completely from drinking. I’ll stop drinking before the game ends. The truth is that alcohol continues to affect you for hours after you’ve put down your last glass. You may actually be MORE intoxicated an hour after you stop drinking than you were when you finished your last cocktail. I only had one glass. While one glass of wine with dinner may not deliver enough alcohol to impair your driving, drinks come in many sizes and strengths. So “just one drink” may have been a glass of wine that is twice a single five-ounce serving of alcohol, or may have three shots of alcohol instead of just one. I’m an excellent drunk driver. No. You only THINK you’re an excellent drunk driver. With as little as 0.02 percent blood alcohol concentration, there may be subtle effects on things like your judgment and vision. By the time you reach the legal limit of 0.08 percent, your reasoning, concentration and perceptions are likely impaired enough to make you unsafe behind the wheel. I don’t feel drunk. Just because you’re not stumbling or slurring your words, that doesn’t mean you’re safe to drive. Long before the visible signs of inebriation set in, your coordination and reflexes are beginning to slow down. I’ll just stick to beer. Great. But that’s still alcohol. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had one shot of liquor, five ounces of wine, or one 12-ounce beer. Alcohol is alcohol. I’ll be fine; I’m not driving far. It doesn’t matter how short the distance is. Drunk is drunk, whether you’re driving 20 miles, or 200 yards. But I blew into this portable breathalyzer thingie and it says I’m OK. Don’t count on gimmicky gadgets to keep you safe. If you bought that breath tester for $100 (or often far less), it’s not nearly accurate enough to measure your blood alcohol content. If it was a gag gift, keep in mind, it’s just that: an entertaining gag gift. The same goes for pills or potions or tricks, such as drinking mouthwash or sucking on a penny, that allege to stop alcohol absorption or skew tests of breath tests in your favor. They just don’t work. Coffee sobers me up. Actually, coffee only helps with drowsiness. You may feel less sleepy, but your judgment and coordination may be impaired. Also, things like exercise and cold showers don’t help. There is nothing that will affect the rate at which your liver processes alcohol.

Barone said that there are few sure-fire ways to be sure you won’t be arrested for driving drunk: Don’t drink or don’t drive. That means staying put, calling a cab or having (or being) a sober designated driver.

“Super Bowl Sunday is a night when we love to get together with friends to enjoy and exciting game and watch funny” Barone said. “An accident or a DUI arrest are not the ways you end a great party.”

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Super Bowl Sunday Drunk Driving

It might be safe to say that Super Bowl Sunday is America’s unofficial holiday. The Seahawks and the Patriots will be battling it out for the title of Super Bowl XLIX champion. However, outside of the living rooms, man-caves, and bars, law enforcement will be doing its own battle and the rival is drunk drivers… with good reason.

According to California safety officials and the Auto Club of Southern California, your chances of being involved in an alcohol-related collision can double on Super Bowl Sunday. In fact, a review of data in California revealed a 77 percent increase in alcohol-related collision causing injury or death on this unofficial holiday.

The analysis of the data reviewed alcohol-related injury and fatal collisions that occurred from 5pm on Super Bowl Sunday through 4am the following day from 2009 to 2013. The data was compared against other Sundays in January and February for the same timeframes.

California saw 294 alcohol-related injury and fatal collisions during the Super Bowl Sunday timeframe from 2009 to 2013. However, other Sundays in January and February only saw 166 alcohol-related injury and fatal collisions during the same time for the same years.

Los Angeles County saw 77 alcohol-related injury and fatal collisions during Super Bowl Sundays in those years. Other Sundays in January and February during those years only saw 49.

Although Super Bowl may not be an official holiday, my advice remains the same:

Plan to take a cab, Uber, Lyft, but or other method of public transportation. Get yourself a designated driver and make sure that they, in fact, remain sober.

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PA Police to be out in full force on Super Bowl Sunday

As with any other holiday, you can expect an increased presence from police on Super Bowl Sunday.  That means extra roving patrols and DUI checkpoints.

While many of us will be out and about enjoying time with our family and friends,  police will be out in full force stopping us at DUI roadblocks with no articuable and individualized probable cause. Many states have found such roadblocks to be per se unreasonable.  These “checkpoints” are becoming more and more intrusive and we have all seen the videos of some police who cross the line and abuse the tenuous grant of authority.

We know that these “checkpoints” are not efficient. They are not statistically justified. And roving patrols use least resources with more effectiveness with a better chance of getting at the true danger: impaired driving.

In our opinion and the opinion held by many, these “checkpoints” are based upon faulty interpretation of the 4th Amendment and Article I Section 8 of the Declaration of Rights (Pennsylvania State Constitution). In essence, the courts have justified that a compelling state reasons exist in insuring safe roads by the use of these totally inefficient “checkpoints.” To try to give some sort of veneer of adherence to a water-downed version of the 4th Amendment, the Courts have placed some restrictions and guidelines that police have to follow in order for them to be allowed.

The majority of arrests and charges from these checkpoints have nothing to do with drunk driving.  As the statistics reveal, it is about money. Most are non-moving violations, license issues, or warrants. The simple fact is there is a whole lot of money in DUI checkpoints.  Police departments and PennDOT and county DUI task forces get federal and state grants to set up these checkpoints. We have fallen far astray from what was perhaps the initial noble cause: get impaired drivers off the road.

As always, we encourage you to make responsible decisions.  If you are stopped at a checkpoint, it helps to know your rights.

The McShane Firm is available 24 hours a day to answer your legal questions. Call 1-866-MCSHANE now.

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