According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2,597 people were killed in United States traffic accidents in December 2010. Of those, 775 deaths involved alcohol-impaired drivers. A 2006 study by the NHTSA estimated that there is one drunk driving fatality in the United States every 30 minutes.
Georgia's Driving Under the Influence Laws are complex. Georgia DUI injury attorney Shane Smith can sort through the intermingled laws that potentially create complications in a DUI case.
A 56-year-old Circuit Court judge in another state was arrested for DUI after police received an anonymous call from another motorist. The caller described a white Mercedes-Benz that was driving erratically and had nearly sideswiped the caller twice.
Upon locating the car a police officer witnessed another near collision.
According to the police report, the judge acknowledged that she had been weaving. She was asked to get out of her car but she refused and said she was calling her attorney. The officer said the judge was having trouble dialing numbers and he smelled alcohol on the judge, her eyes appeared glassy and red, her speech was slow and slurred and her face red and flush.
When the judge got out of the car she used the door to push herself up and had balance problems. She refused to take a breath test and declined to walk in front of the patrol car to perform field sobriety exercises, possibly to avoid the embarrassment and humiliation of being caught on video while under the influence.
The judge had previously been arrested for DUI in 1988.
If you have questions about Georgia DUI laws, get the answers in Clayton County DUI injury attorney Shane Smith's book, I Was Hit By a Drunk Driver: What Do I Do Next? Contact Shane Smith Law to schedule a free legal consultation.