DUI

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Could Your Prescription Medicine Affect Your Driving?

Prescription Drugs and Driving Can Be a Fatal Mix

You know that alcohol and illegal drugs can impair driving ability and cause dangerous accidents. But what about your prescription medication? Many people don’t realize that even medicine that is prescribed by a doctor and taken as directed can affect your driving.

It is an issue that concerns our car accident lawyers, as well as many lawmakers. The penalty for driving under the influence of medication carries the same penalty as a DUI in certain states. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reported that drugs were present in 43% of fatally injured drivers in 2017, more frequently than alcohol was present. This applies to some legal prescription and over-the-counter drugs, as well as illegal drugs.

Drugged driving is more complex than driving under the influence of alcohol for several reasons. […]

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Pennsylvania’s New DUI Law Goes Into Effect

What is the new DUI law in PA?

A new DUI law goes into effect in Pennsylvania this week, placing different restrictions on first-time DUI drivers.

Under the new law, first-time offenders will have to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicles. Previously, ignition interlocks were only required after two or more offenses; first-time offenders would instead face a license suspension of one year.

What is an ignition interlock device?

An ignition interlock device is essentially a breathalizer that will prevent a car’s engine from starting until the driver blows into a tube to indicate that they are not under the influence. If the device detects alcohol, the vehicle will not start.

Those in favor of the new law say that the ignition interlock will be more effective in preventing drunk driving accidents and deaths, […]

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Fatal Hit and Run Accidents on the Rise in Philadelphia

According to the Philadelphia Daily News, hit and run accidents in the city have reached almost epidemic levels in recent months.

Nonfatal hit and run incidents have increased by 30%, while fatal hit and runs have gone up 55% compared to this time last year.

The most recent fatal hit and run in Philadelphia took the life of 18-year-old Kevin Maldonado, who was struck by a woman driving a stolen white Toyota Prius. After hitting Maldonado, the woman abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.

Incidents like this one leave many people wondering how someone can run from the scene of an accident and leave a person to die. In 2014, Pennsylvania law was amended to ensure that the minimum legal penalty for fleeing the scene of an accident would be the same as the minimum sentence for DUI, […]

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Is Uber cutting down on drunk driving?

In February of this year, Uber officially became available to the Scranton/Wilkes Barre area.

What is Uber? Born in San Francisco and common in large cities before making its NEPA debut, Uber is a mobile app/service that allows users to connect with professional independent contract drivers hired by the company to provide a ridesharing service, similar to a taxi service. Uber is currently available in 50 countries and 250 cities.

Uber has been in the news a lot lately, particularly for questions regarding its safety. This blog and infographic from the Michigan Auto Law Blog entitle “How Safe is Uber?” does an excellent job of breaking down the safety concerns and what Uber is doing to make its service safer for both riders and drivers.

One reason we’re interested in Uber is because of its potential to reduce the number of drunk driving accidents that happen each year. […]

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Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety Rank States in Annual Report

Pennsylvania still lacking in some driver safety laws

On January 22, the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety released their 12th annual “Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws” report. The report outlines the number of people killed and injured in motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2013 (the latest data available), and what can be done to improve safety on our nation’s roads.  Areas of focus include child passenger safety, teen drivers, impaired driving, distracted driving, seat belt and helmet laws.  The report also provides a state-by-state breakdown of where safety laws are enforced, and issues “green” “yellow” and “red” ratings based on this. See how your state compares to the rest of the country when it comes to safety laws and traffic deaths. If you want clear, reader-friendly analysis or quick facts about car accidents where you live, […]

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Personal injury lawyer provides safe driving tips for 40 million Americans hitting the road this Thanksgiving holiday

For many of us, Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season and a time to spend with family and friends. AAA Travel projects that 46.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving weekend, many to visit to family.

90% of those travelers, or 41.3 million people will travel by automobile. This is a 4.2% increase over last year, and the highest volume of holiday travelers since 2007. This is due in part to the lowest gas prices we’ve seen in years. According to AAA, the national price of gas has fallen below $3.00 per gallon for the first time since December 2010.

With this increase in traffic, we could also see an increase in accidents. According to an article in the Ohio Journal News, Thanksgiving is usually one of the deadliest holidays of the year. […]

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Pennsylvania Attorney Marion Munley Chosen to Serve on AAJ Board of Governors

SCRANTON, PA – October 9, 2014 – Marion Munley, a partner in the Pennsylvania personal injury law firm of Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, was elected to serve on the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice (AAJ). Munley was elected during the organization’s recent national convention in Baltimore, Maryland.

“I look forward to serving on the Board of Governors, and helping to advance the AAJ’s mission of protecting the legal rights of Americans who have been injured by negligence or misconduct, even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations and interests,” Munley said. “The AAJ plays a significant role in promoting justice and fairness for injured persons and in strengthening our country’s civil justice system. I am excited about the opportunity to help our organization continue this important work.”

Munley represents individuals and their families in complex personal injury litigation, including interstate truck accidents and medical malpractice in both state and federal courts. […]

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Drunk driving kills 12-year-old boy in Old Forge, PA

Drunk driving continues to be a serious problem in our area and across the country. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that across the country, about one in every four people who were convicted for drunk driving was a repeat offender. A Philadelphia Inquirer article published earlier this week reported that Pennsylvania has a high rate of offenders. The article said that although someone dies on average every day in Pennsylvania from a DUI accident, it is one of the few states that require a conviction before yanking a license for DUI.

Although than 600 Pennsylvania police departments, including the state police, participated in a nationwide DUI crackdown over Labor Day weekend, with DUI checkpoints and roving patrols, drunk driving that weekend caused heartbreak for many families. Locally, there was a much accident-related tragedy. WNEP TV reported that crashes killed nearly a dozen people, […]

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Pennsylvania Drunk Drivers Target of Police Crackdown

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is once again getting the message out to Americans to “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” Pennsylvania State Police and law enforcement agencies across the country are joining in the latest campaign, that runs through Labor Day, in an effort to get impaired drivers off roads.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2010 State Motor Vehicle Fatalities statistics, there were 10,228 alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities nationwide in 2010. Pennsylvania saw 433 alcohol-related highway deaths in 2010.  These deaths represented 24 percent of the 1,324 fatal accidents in the state that year.  Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reports preliminary data shows there were 428 alcohol-related accident fatalities and approximately 11,700 alcohol-related crashes statewide in 2011.

In a ceremony in Berks County where officials unveiled a memorial for victims of DUI accidents, Trooper Ethan Brownback said, “We’re having checkpoints all over the county, […]

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Pennsylvania State Police Announce Pursuit Statistics

The Pennsylvania State Police announced Monday that the number of pursuits across the state increased in 2011.  Pennsylvania police were involved in 1,453 vehicle pursuits last year, a slight increase over the 1,413 pursuits reported in 2010.

A pursuit is initiated by police “when the driver of the vehicle is resisting the apprehension by maintaining or increasing his speed or by ignoring the police officer’s audible or visual signal to stop.”

According to the press release, thirteen pursuit-related deaths were reported in 2011. Twelve of those killed were fleeing from police; one death involved an uninvolved person. No Pennsylvania police officers were killed as the result of pursuits. However, in a case we reported in February, a West Virginia policeman died in the midst of a pursuit that crossed the PA line.

Many police chases result in serious car accidents.  Last year, […]

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PSP Release Car Accident Report From Easter Weekend

Pennsylvania State Police report there were 470 Pennsylvania automobile accidents during the long Easter weekend from Friday, April 6, through Sunday, April 8.  Three people died and 196 were injured in the accidents.

Commissioner Frank Noonan reported the statistics Monday afternoon.  He further reported that one of the persons that died in a car accident was not wearing a seat belt. In addition, 56 of the 470 crashes were alcohol-related with two of the fatalities being alcohol related.

The police were also out trying to limit accidents through enforcement events.  According to the troop breakdown report, troopers charged 292 people with DUI, issued 4,723 speeding tickets, gave 529 seatbelt warnings and issued another 5,906 citations during the weekend.

In comparison to the 2011 Easter period, two people died and 196 were injured in 527 crashes investigated.

Our Pennsylvania car accident attorneys encourage all drivers to practice good defensive driving behaviors when taking to our highways.  […]

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PA School Bus Driver Charged With DUI

When parents put their children on a school bus they assume the children will arrive safely at the school.  They also assume the driver is experienced and responsible.  Unfortunately, for children and their parents in Washington, PA, recently that wasn’t the case.  Their school bus driver was charged with DUI after transporting 3 loads of children while legally drunk.

According to the Observer-Reporter.com, after the school bus driver had made three rounds of bringing students to school, he was preparing to take another group on a field trip.  A teacher noticed that the man appeared to be under the influence and notified the proper authorities.  Police found the driver had a blood alcohol content of .081 – four times the legal limit.  The Huffington Post reports the driver was fired.

Fortunately, no one was injured in this incident.  However, there have been far too many school bus accidents across the United States this year. […]

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Four Elderly Women in Fatal PA Car Crash

Four elderly women in car crash on the way to garden club meeting, two killed, two seriously injured

Two Women Die, Two Injured in PA Car Accident
WETM-TV reports four elderly women traveling in a Buick Century were on the way to their monthly “Garden Club” meeting at a nearby Perkins restaurant Thursday around noon when they were in a tragic car accident.  The women were at the intersection of Rt. 6 and Dorset Heights in Mansfield when their car collided with an F-250 Ford pickup truck.  Two of the women, aged 81- and 89-years old both died in the accident. The two others were seriously injured and were airlifted to the local hospital. The driver of the pickup truck was not injured. Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the accident.

Motorcyclist Dies in Accident in FL
A 77-year-old Florida woman has been charged with DUI manslaughter, […]

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Car Accident Round-Up: Students Killed in Wrong Way Crash

Woman slams head-on into vehicle after traveling seven miles in the oncoming lane in fatal car accident

Four Die in Wrong-Way Accident in Ohio
A 69-year-old woman traveled over seven miles the wrong direction on I-75 near Toledo, Ohio, before slamming head-on into a car carrying five college students.  The woman and three of the college students died in the Friday morning accident.  The two other college students were seriously injured.  A caravan of four cars was carrying 16 Bowling Green State University students to the airport for a spring break vacation in the Dominican Republic.  Police are investigating to determine why the woman was on the wrong side of the road.

Police Chase Leads to Fatal Car Crash in Pennsylvania
A driver and his passenger died early Monday morning when their car crashed into a wall in Wilkinsburg, PA after a police chase.  […]

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Car Accident Round-Up: Fatal Nine-Car Accident in CA

Three dead, 10 injured in car accident caused by woman suspected of being drunk

Nine Car Accident Leaves Three Dead in CA DUI Accident
A nine-car crash in Monterey County, CA left three people dead and approximately 10 people injured, two seriously. According to police, the Wednesday evening accident occurred when a woman suspected of drunk driving reached for her cell phone and crossed the center line in her SUV, striking a Volkswagen head-on. Three occupants of the Volkswagen died and a fourth was seriously injured. After the two vehicles crashed, another seven cars were involved in a chain-reaction crash.  The occupants of the Volkswagen and those in another car following them were returning from a funeral in King City.  The pileup occurred on Highway 101 near King City, CA.

Man Dies Crossing Street at Busy Philadelphia Intersection
A 77-year-old man crossing the road at Henry Avenue and School House Lane in the East Falls section of Philadelphia was struck by a vehicle last week.  […]

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Car Accident Round-Up: Policeman Dies in PA Car Chase

Suspect of previous hit-and-run arrested for suspected vehicular homicide in car accident

Pennsylvania Car Chase Leads to Policeman’s Death
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, police stopped a 35-year-old man suspected of an earlier hit-and-run accident in Granville, WV early Saturday morning.  The man refused to get out of his car, and drove off leading police on a car chase into Pennsylvania.  A WV police sergeant had pulled his SUV off the road on I-79 near the one-mile marker in PA and was ready to assist in stopping the vehicle when the suspect crashed into the SUV. The policeman was taken to the nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of homicide by vehicle while police await toxicology test results.  Police believe the man was driving drunk and taking prescription anti-anxiety drugs.

Three U.S. Marines Die in CA Car Accident, […]

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Four Men Die in Christmas Day Car Crash

Police suspect speeding during suboptimal conditions to be the cause of crash

Deadly Maine Accident Leaves Four Dead
A tragic Christmas Day car crash in Palermo, Maine, left four men dead – two brothers in one vehicle, and a man and his father-in-law in another.  The Bangor Daily News reports the two brothers were traveling on Route 3 in an SUV that apparently lost control and skidded sideways into the path of the other car, which struck the SUV broadside. All four men died at the scene.  Police are continuing to investigate, but believe the SUV was traveling too fast for conditions after a light snow dusted the roadway.  The brothers were aged 18 and 21-years-old.  The two men were 64 and 83-years-old. 

Two Teens Die in Florida Accident
Two teenagers, both 18-years-old, died in a Sunday evening car crash in Bradenton, FL, according to My Fox Tampa Bay.  […]

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Car Accident Round-Up – Teenagers Die in Early Morning FL Accident

Car spins out of control, strikes light post and splits in two killing two teenagers in fatal accident

Two Teens Dead, One Critical After Miami Accident
The Miami-Herald reports a 2:30 a.m. Saturday accident in Miami, FL left two teenagers dead and another critically injured when the car in which they were traveling struck a light post on the highway causing the vehicle to split in half.  The accident, on the Dolphin Expressway near Northwest 17th Avenue, occurred when the car swerved and crossed the inside lane and shoulder, spun and struck the concrete wall and a light post.  The two pieces of the car blocked both the westbound and eastbound lanes of the highway.  The 17-year-old driver and an 18-year-old passenger were pronounced dead at the scene. The second passenger, 18-years-old, was found seat belted into the rear section of the car.  She was taken to Ryder Trauma Center.  […]

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Car Accident Round-Up – One Dead, Five Injured in Multi-Vehicle Crash in FL

Out-of-control vehicle spins into oncoming lane colliding with two other vehicles in fatal accident

FL Accident Kills One, Leaves Five Critically Injured
A multi-vehicle crash over the weekend in Frostproof, Florida left one person dead and five others critically injured.  The Miami Herald reports that a vehicle on U.S. 27 northbound ran off the roadway, overcorrected and spun around sending it into the southbound lanes where it collided with two other vehicles.  The driver of the out-of-control vehicle died; her two passengers were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.  Three occupants of the other vehicles were listed in critical condition. Police were continuing to investigate the accident. 

Heart Attack Kills Driver of Rock Band Bus in Iowa
According to the Ames Tribune, the driver of the charter bus for the rock band Widespread Panic apparently suffered a heart attack while driving the bus on Interstate 35 last week south of Ames, […]

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Pennsylvania Family Awarded $2.9 Million in DUI-Hit-and-Run

The family of a 14-year-old Bensalem, Pennsylvania girl who was killed in a 2004 hit-and-run crash while she was trying to cross a road has been awarded $2.9 million by a Bucks County judge.  The case was decided without a jury.

The 21-year-old driver that struck the girl was driving with a suspended license and was found to be intoxicated at the time of the crash.  The police did not charge him with DUI-related hit-and-run saying that road condition and other factors, not his drunkenness, caused the crash.  The driver, however, was sentenced to three to six years in a state prison for the accident, and is currently in jail.

The family of the deceased brought a civil trial against the driver and the owner of the vehicle the man was driving.  According to PhillyBurbs.com, the judge awarded the plaintiffs $697,749.92 in wrongful death damages against both defendants; […]