South Carolina MADD Chapter Calls for Tougher DUI Laws

July 01, 2012 (Press-News.org) People always have plenty of questions after a car accident, regardless of what led to the crash. When personal injuries or a wrongful death are caused by a drunk driver, a variety of legal issues might come into play, including evidence of intoxication and special legal claims based on dram shop liability.

Many highway safety advocates argue that the best way to prevent drunk driving accidents is stiffer penalties and stronger enforcement. To that end, members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) recently urged South Carolina lawmakers to pass tougher DUI laws.

Advocating earlier and stricter application of ignition interlock systems after DUI convictions, MADD points out that a first drunk-driving conviction almost never means that the person is driving intoxicated for the first time. Yet under current South Carolina law, drunk drivers are not required to install the devices until they have received two DUI convictions.

Imposing Ignition Interlock for First Offense DUI

Ignition interlock systems require a driver to blow into a breath test device that will prevent the engine from starting if it detects a blood-alcohol level of .02 percent or higher. (A reading of .08 percent is the statutory level of impairment in South Carolina.) Bills mandating the devices after a first conviction failed in both houses this session despite pointed testimony from family members of fatal DUI accident victims.

According to MADD, South Carolina has the highest rate of drinking-related traffic fatalities in the country. In the latest statistical year, 44 percent of all fatal wrecks involved drinking and driving, and drunk driving has taken more than 2,000 lives in South Carolina since 2007.

MADD estimates that drunk driving fatalities have cost the state nearly $10 billion over the past five years. The group also cites studies showing that ignition interlock laws reduce repeat DUI by 67 percent, a figure that also means reduced heartache to injury victims and surviving loved ones.

Understanding Dram Shop Liability in South Carolina

A host of other laws on the books are intended to punish drunk drivers or, even better, discourage them from driving while intoxicated in the first place. Sobriety checkpoints, mandatory alcohol treatment for offenders, administrative license revocations and felony DUI laws combine smart enforcement with strategies to reduce chronic alcoholism and lock up the worst offenders.

When a drunk driver's bad judgment leads to a car accident, all of those measures are little help to the family that receives a midnight phone call from the Highway Patrol. Intoxicated driving accidents can cause catastrophic injuries or a tragic death, particularly when the drunk driver fails to heed a stop sign or veers into oncoming traffic. Because the resulting medical expenses, lost income and other damages can easily exceed the limits of auto insurance policies, injury victims often turn to DUI accident attorneys to explore their full range of compensation options.

Dram shop liability provides an important option for holding other parties liable for a drunk-driving accident. If a bar, restaurant or store sells alcoholic beverages to an underage or obviously intoxicated person, they can be sued for any harm caused by that person. This might be the primary source of compensation for someone injured by an uninsured or underinsured drunk driver.

Proving dram shop liability in a case involving a driver of legal drinking age means that a personal injury attorney must secure evidence of the driver's level of drunkenness prior to being served, either from witness accounts or an establishment's surveillance video. If the driver was too young to buy alcohol, proof of a bartender or waiter's failure to check ID is also an important issue, and responsibility for damages can extend to injuries suffered by passengers in the young person's vehicle.

South Carolina also recognizes social host liability for individuals who provide alcohol at underage drinking parties. As laws evolve and society recognizes the benefits of extending liability to people who are in a position to help avoid drunk driving scenarios, a dram shop liability attorney can help victims of drunk drivers pursue justice and understand their eligibility for punitive damages and full compensation for economic losses.

Article provided by Frank Hartman Law Firm
Visit us at www.thehartmanlawfirm.com/