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Police officers routinely engage DUI task forces to clear the streets of drunk drivers. Especially during the holiday season, teams of cops increase patrols to sweep the streets of impaired drivers. Law enforcement are not the only ones trying to keep the streets clean. However, bad things happen when other people take the wheel to clean the streets while under the influence.

New Year’s Eve continuing through the early morning hours of January 1st are peak times for arrests of drivers under the influence (DUI). It brings to a close the holiday season which stretches from Thanksgiving through to the new year, where the incidents of drivers taking to the road after a little too much celebration and inebriation. However, as the new year dawn, a new batch of politicians make their into office.

Consuming too much alcohol can have a negative impact on our faculties. This is one factor that can lead to the decision to drive even when a driver is not sober. If that decision to drive inebriated comes when a driver is on the clock, it will likely impact their future job prospects.

For most people, getting arrested for their first charge of driving under the influence (DUI) is a terrible experience. Facing jail time, mandatory fines, a suspended license, increased insurance and DUI school can be frightening, especially without the assistance of an experienced DUI attorney. Most drivers are deterred from their first DUI experience that they avoid a second DUI. However, some drivers are so little deterred by a DUI arrest that they go out and get arrested for a second DUI in the same day.

On New Year’s Eve, a Pasco man was killed in a car accident involving a suspected drunk driver. Clifford T. Barker, 58 years old, of Kennewick was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide. Barker was apparently driving his 1995 Ford pickup truck eastbound in the westbound lane of Interstate 182. Barker’s truck collided with an SUV driven by Martin Sanchez-Andrade, before the truck continued into a Honda Civic.

As the holidays approach, many people will be traveling home to celebrate with family and friends. This could have people braving long cross-country drives, where a quick boost from an energy drink helps to keep them awake. Come New Year’s Eve, as the hour of midnight approaches some revellers will be combining alcohol and energy drinks in a cocktail that will keep them partying until the early morning hours. Although combining energy drinks and alcohol is increasingly common, especially among college students, new research shows that it leads to increased risk-taking, including driving while intoxicated.

The holiday season from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day is a busy time for festivities and for travel. Often times the festivities will include dining, drinking, and sometimes smoking. This can become a problem when people drive to parties and events, then have to drive home. Police departments will step up drunk driver enforcement during the holiday season, but now because of the change in marijuana laws, police enforcement will focus more than just on drivers who drink.

Drinking too much alcohol has an impact on our ability to drive at peak performance.  Alcohol can reduce reaction times, reduce concentration, increase drowsiness, and make it more difficult to do several tasks at once. It can also affect overconfidence, which may lead to increased risk taking, r...

Anyone who has been arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) in the State of Washington knows that police and prosecutors are tough on DUI's.  Penalties include jail time, fines and fees, and at the time of arrest the driver's vehicle is automatically impounded.  As DUI arrests continue, Wa...

After drivers in Washington are arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), they may be required to instal an ignition interlock device (IID) in their vehicles.  However, some Seattle firefighters arrested for DUIs were allowed to continue driving Seattle Fire Department vehicles for months a...

When it comes to driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol, drivers having a drink may ask themselves “how many is too many?”  How many drinks can a driver consume, and how long do they have to wait before they are safe to drive?  However, for the extreme subset of drivers with prior convictio...

A case involving a Colorado DUI charge has been sent to the nation's highest court, to determine whether police officer's need a warrant to take a blood sample from a suspect.  Unlawful search and seizure is protected by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.  If they take up the case, and rul...

Advances in technology have made detection of alcohol in the body a faster and more efficient process. We recently reported on the upgraded breath-test machines being adopted by Washington State Patrol.  The new machines are smaller, feature a touch screen, and have advanced processing power to g...

Thanksgiving conjures up images of family gathered around the dinner table, as the turkey is carved, and the gravy is poured. As a day off of work for most, this holiday can involve wine with the meal, beer while watching a football game, and drinks with friends. As an unfortunate result, Thanksg...

An 86-year-old man has been charged with vehicular assault and a DUI for a wrong-way crash on Interstate 5 in Tacoma. Police say the University Place man was driving under the influence (DUI) at the time of the accident. The driver, Panos Spiros Palas, reportedly had a blood alcohol content (BAC)...

Celebrities are not immune from the watchful eyes of the law when it comes to drinking and driving. These past few weeks were no exception. Baseball and football players and reality television stars alike have recently taken to the road after having a few drinks. The headline star of TLC channel...

After being pulled over for driving under the influence (DUI), people will go to great lengths to avoid going to jail. After all, drunk driving charges carry stiff penalties, especially here in Washington State. Recently a Washington judge was faced with the full extent of DUI penalties. While a ...

The technology used by Washington State Patrol to test the blood alcohol content (BAC) of drivers arrested for drunk driving has been around for over 20 years.  In that time, thousands of people have stood in police stations before the breath test machines, blowing a long breath into the device, ...

On Halloween, as with many other American holidays, people enjoy celebrating the festivities with friends and strangers, partying and drinking. However, all too often, people make the decision to drive home even after they have had enough to put them over the legal limit. Halloween can be a parti...

The number of states legalizing medical marijuana continues to climb, now nearing two dozen. Washington state and Colorado have already legalized recreational use, with Oregon, Alaska and Washington DC about to vote on the issue this coming election cycle. With all these states and localities cha...

Everyone who has a drink and takes to the road is at risk of being arrested for driving under the influence.  Being arrested for a DUI affects people from all walks of life, even those who drive our kids to school, and the same police who are charged with enforcing the law.  Two recent DUI cases ...

Perhaps it should not come as a surprise when politicians are arrested for driving under the influence (DUI).  A number of politicians have faced a drunk driving arrest, including most notably, George W. Bush.  The former president was arrested in 1976 in the state of Maine for driving under the ...

Michael Phelps, the U.S. Olympic swimming champion and most decorated olympian of all time, will enter a six-week inpatient treatment program following his recent DUI.  Phelps had been planning a swimming comeback, but with this latest drunk driving arrest, he faces a major setback after being re...