DUI incidents may spike over St. Patrick’s Day weekend
New research findings suggest that the number of drunk driving violations that occur in connection with any given holiday may be related to the day of the week on which that holiday falls. Since St. Patrick’s Day landed on a Friday in 2017, Tennessee motorists could have expected an increase in drunk driving incidents.
Alcohol Monitoring Systems, a leading provider of the alcohol testing technologies that are widely used within the criminal justice industry, has gathered valuable data based on the drinking habits of repeat DUI offenders. Through the use of alcohol monitoring bracelets, AMS continuously monitored approximately 540,000 individuals over 14 years for alcohol use.
The AMS study results indicate that the number of DUI-related violations involving repeat drunk drivers who have been ordered to remain sober could have been 17 percent higher than average on St. Patrick’s Day. The surge was expected to rise even higher the following day. This prediction is consistent with the findings of national organizations, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. During the early morning hours of the day after St. Patrick’s Day, NHTSA says that drunk driving plays a part in nearly 33 percent of accident fatalities nationwide.
An AMS spokesperson suggested that drunk driving rates could be even higher for individuals who are not currently subject to court-ordered monitoring. In the event that a driver is faced with drunk driving charges, that individual may find it beneficial to seek counsel from a criminal defense attorney. Depending the facts of the case, the attorney may be able to have the charges dismissed or reduced.