Aug 26, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
According to a recent news article, SC law-enforcement officials plan a crackdown on drunk driving after a new study showing about 70 percent of South Carolina’s drunk-driving-related traffic fatalities involve at least one driver with blood alcohol levels nearly twice the legal limit. The S.C. Department of Public Safety and S.C. Highway Patrol held a news conference in Columbia to announce the beginning of “Sober or Slammer” program, which will try to significantly reduce drunk driving through increased DUI enforcement. This new program will run through the Labor Day weekend. Police are also expected to be much more visible in Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Lake Wylie, Tega Cay, Clover, Lancaster, and Columbia during the holiday.
The most recent research showed that about one person is killed each day in a DUI-related crash in South Carolina as more than 350 people were killed in the Palmetto State in 2010. More disturbingly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released new data which showed that, nationally, traffic fatalities actually dropped 14 percent from 2006 to 2010 to 1,080. However, more than 340 of those deaths were caused by at least one driver with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 or more. In South Carolina, more than 70 percent of the state’s drunk driving fatalities were caused by at least one driver with an alcohol level of 0.15 or more, more than twice the “legal limit.”
York County DUI Attorneys
This upcoming holiday weekend, the DUI attorneys at Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP wish you and your family a safe, restful break. Three day weekends are awesome. If you are stopped at a checkpoint or otherwise charged with a DUI or DUAC, call us to review your options. Don’t think you are guilty just because you are arrested. We can help. Compare our lawyers’ credentials against any other firm. Then, hire the best dui lawyer who you trust to fight for your case. Call us today for answers and alternatives to simply pleading guilty. 803-548-4444 or 877-374-5999 toll free.
Aug 6, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
Last week, a Rock Hill man was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) and third-degree assault and battery. The Rock Hill man was arrested by Myrtle Beach police after he punched a man after a fight. The arrest occurred at North Eighth Avenue and Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, SC.
The fight occured at Sixth Avenue North and Chester Street. The Rock Hill man was only detained after a police officer stopped him on suspicion of DUI and leaving the scene of an accident.
The misdemeanor of third degree assault and battery in South Carolina carries a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both. The crime itself requires that “The accused unlawfully injured another person, or offers or attempts to injure another person with the present ability to do so.” §16-3-600(E)(1). The accused need not have actually hit anyone, i.e. no battery must have occured.
South Carolina Criminal Defense and DUI Attorneys
If you have been charged with a crime anywhere in South Carolina, we’re here to help. Call the experienced South Carolina criminal defense attorneys of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower at 877-374-5999 (or use this form) for a free consultation with an attorney. We’ll help you evaluate your options and develop your best defense to get you the best results possible.
Aug 1, 2012 | Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
Not too terrible long ago, in the very recent past, people rarely saw or expected to come across a DUI checkpoint. The common belief of most drivers was that DUI checkpoints were only on major roads such as exits off the interstate or major highways. And even when there was a checkpoint, it was only on special occasions when one would expect people to be drinking, such as the 4th of July or New Years.
However, In Rock Hill, Clover, Lake Wylie, Fort Mill and across all of York County, this is simply no longer the case. Now it is not uncommon to come across a DUI checkpoint at random places, on less traveled roads and at times when no one would expect to come across a DUI checkpoint. It has become all too common for Law Enforcement to change up their strategies to catch people who drink and drive, and as a result, you may come across a DUI checkpoint when you least expect it.
Unfortunately, it’s not always someone who is under the influence to be a victim of these checkpoints. Often, people who had one or two drinks with dinner or with a friend come across a checkpoint and as a result are charged with DUI.
If this has happened to you or someone you know, we can help. The attorneys of Reeves Aiken & Hightower LLP stand ready to work tirelessly for you if you have been charged with DUI or BUI in SC. We encourage you to visit our website at www.rjrlaw.com and compare our attorneys’ credentials to any other firm. You can then call us toll-free at 877-374-5999 or contact us by email for a private, confidential consultation to review your particular case.
Jul 31, 2012 | DUI & DWI, News, Uncategorized
On Tuesday, July 24, a 19 year old man from York, James Kyle Rose, has been charged with one count of felony DUI resulting in a death, two counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury and driving under suspension. These charges come just three weeks after Rose was arrested for DUI on July 8.
According to Police, Rose swerved off the right side of the road, hit a tree and flipped over. All four passengers in the car were ejected, and 18-year-old Clover girl, Clarissa Disbrow, was killed. Paramedics took Rose and another passenger to Piedmont Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
Another frightening reminder that you don’t have to hit someone else to be charged with Felony DUI. If you are driving under the Influence and one of your passengers are hurt or killed, you could be facing charges such as these. Felony DUI resulting in Death carries up to 25 years in prison. If you find yourself or someone you know charged with Felony DUI, you need to seek the advice of serious professionals trained to represent you.
The Criminal Defense Attorneys of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower
If you or someone you know has been charged with any crime, call the experienced South Carolina criminal defense attorneys of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower at 877-374-5999, for a free consultation with an attorney. We’ll help you evaluate your options and develop your best defense to get you the best results possible.
Jul 28, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
I came across this interesting but slightly disturbing article. I say slightly distrubing because, if it comes to production, this new technology would impose itself upon everyone who has to try and drive the vehicle. Additionally, the technology in its current form is not without flaws according to this article. It appears that some car companies are now experimenting with equipping all vehicles with a device that would require the driver to blow into it to test their BAC before allowing them to start the engine. This research is being funded by taxpayer dollars. In theory, it is supposed to work similarly to the ignition interlock system that is currently installed on the cars of those individuals convicted of DUI. The legal BAC limit in most states is .08%, however according to some sources, this device would not allow someone to drive their car if they register a BAC of .02%. Supposedly, the apparent reasoning is that a person’s BAC level rises over time. Thus, if set at .02%, then again in theory, a rising BAC level would still stop t a person from driving who might reach a BAC of .08% or higher over time. The problem with this “one solution for all” is that the technology does not always work as intended. And, we use our cars for all types of situations, including emergencies. There is no reasonable basis to punish us all for the sins of a few. Moreover, people always seem to find a way to “get around” these devices.
The attorneys of Reeves Aiken & Hightower LLP stand ready to work tirelessly for you if you have been charged with DUI or BUI in SC. We encourage you to visit our website at www.rjrlaw.com and compare our attorneys’ credentials to any other firm. You can then call us toll-free at 877-374-5999 or contact us by email for a private, confidential consultation to review your particular case.
Alcohol-sensing technology could become standard in all cars
By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY
The long-term transportation funding bill just approved by Congress includes funds for researching alcohol-detection technology that could eventually be standard equipment in all new cars.
That funding — $5 million over two years — should have been stripped from the bill because it “uses American taxpayer dollars to fund something they’re not going to want in their cars,” said a group representing the restaurant industry.
“Spending lots of taxpayer dollars to develop alcohol-sensing technology that can come as standard equipment in all cars is a misuse of these funds,” said Sarah Longwell, managing director of the American Beverage Institute (ABI).
Since 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the nation’s automakers have been researching technology that can non-invasively measure a driver’s blood-alcohol content and prevent a vehicle from starting if the driver is legally drunk. The national research effort is the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS).
Longwell argues that such in-vehicle technology will mean the end of social drinking in the USA. “Our main complaint is that (the in-car systems) will not be set at .08%,” she said. That is the blood alcohol level deemed unlawful for drivers in all 50 states. “It will have to be set lower, because after five drinks, your BAC level is not .08 right away. It will increase, and cross the legal threshold while you’re driving. The vehicle can’t just shut down mid-trip. So, for legal and liability reasons, it will have to be set below .08. We believe they will set it around .02 or .03.”
DADSS spokesman Wade Newton denied that. “.08 is the legal limit,” he said. “That’s what the devices will be set at.”
Newton said researchers are “looking at whether technology exists” that could potentially shut a vehicle down or take some other action if a driver’s BAC rose above the legal limit while the vehicle was in motion. “We’re still looking at how to check for a situation where the driver starts exceeding the legal limit once the vehicle is in motion, and also what to do with the vehicle,” he said.
The DADSS researchers are testing approaches that:
•Use “tissue spectrometry” to measure a driver’s BAC. Sensors in places such as the steering wheel, gear shift and ignition read blood-alcohol levels through the driver’s fingertips.
•Use “distant spectrometry,” a breath-based method in which multiple sensors in the vehicle’s cabin assess the alcohol concentration in the driver’s exhaled breath.
Researchers expect to have a “drivable test vehicle” within about two years. “We think 8-10 years is the earliest a consumer would see this as an option in an auto,” Newton said.
Longwell of the ABI said the new technology will signal an end to Americans’ ability “to have a beer at a ballgame or a glass of wine with dinner.” Her organization also challenges the accuracy of in-vehicle alcohol detection devices, arguing that even if they were “reliable 99.99966% of the time, it would still mean over 4,000 misreadings per day.”
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an advocate of in-vehicle alcohol detectors, said the research funds are well spent. “Drunken driving costs the U.S. $132 billion each year, and we think that $5 million … is a good use of transportation dollars to potentially eliminate the problem,” said J.T. Griffin, senior vice president for public policy.
- Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-06-29/alcohol-detection-technology-standard-cars/55927610/1
Jul 12, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
The number 0.08% is important in South Carolina DUI (driving under the influence) prosecution. That is true. However, the state of South Carolina can and will aggressively prosecute a DUI against an individual who had less than a 0.08% blood alcohol content (BAC).
The state will do this because DUI requires, not a 0.08% BAC, but
- presence of alcohol or other intoxicating substance in the body, and
- impairment of ability to drive safely.
If an individual is physically impaired at the time of arrest, as evidenced in the police car video, the audio recording, or the officer’s testimony, a jury can, and some juries will, convict individuals who blow far less than a 0.08%.
The SC DUI Attorneys of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower
No matter what your blood alcohol concentration was, if you have been charged with DUI, you need experienced DUI representation. At Reeves, Aiken & Hightower, you can trust that you will get the representation you deserve from attorneys with extensive DUI experience. When you need help, call us at 877-374-5999, or contact us at this link, for a free, private consultation.
