Tennessee crash prevention could mean stricter DUI enforcement
Tennessee authorities and safety officials are celebrating. They report that the last few years have been safer on the roads than others in the state. Fewer people have died in traffic accidents altogether, and state officials plan to continue that trend in 2014.
Drastic measures are often taken in the name of safety. Those measures include the enactment and enforcement of criminal laws. This is relevant to our Tennessee DUI blog because improving traffic safety sometimes results in more drunk driving arrests and changes in the law.
A new driving safety campaign in Tennessee called “Drive to Zero Fatalities” is officials’ new efforts to further reduce fatal accidents in the state. Based on crash and DUI arrest statistics for the year thus far, it would not be surprising for more local drivers to find themselves in the midst of an impaired driving investigation.
As we noted earlier, state officials are celebrating. Reports indicate that this year already proves to be safer in some ways. There have been fewer crash injuries and deaths this year compared to during the same time period last year. Still, there is one area of safety concern according to authorities. There have been a few more DUI accidents so far this year compared to this time in 2013.
While a few more supposed drunk driving accidents worry law enforcement, a different statistic is concerning in regards to drunk driving defense law. Compared to in the beginning of 2013, the last few months of this year have included a reported 47-percent increase in the rate of DUI arrests in Tennessee.
When state authorities’ so-called safety campaign leads to a DUI arrest, a defendant should not hesitate to pursue his own safety and security with the help of an aggressive drunk driving defense lawyer. No statistics support the wrongful arrest or prosecution of a Tennessee driver.
Source: The Chattanoogan, “New Enforcement Campaign Announced To Reduce Traffic Fatalities,” April 3, 2014