Missouri Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

Watch out Missouri and Illinois drunk drivers! Over the upcoming holidays, area police agencies are expected to implement a national program aimed at arresting and successfully prosecuting impaired drivers. The "Drunk Driving. Over The Limit. Under Arrest" Program is aimed at reducing the number of drunk driving injury and death cases by removing impaired drivers from the streets.

The organized police efforts will include the unusual practice of having a Judge "on call" to issue warrants to obtain blood samples in order to get blood-alcohol readings from suspected drunk drivers who refuse the breath test. The program is sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Continue reading "Missouri & Illinois Driver Alert: Local Police To Implement "Drunk Driving. Over The Limit. Under Arrest" Program" »

In an on-going effort to combat the problem of accidents caused by inattentive driving, the United States Department of Transportation has proposed a federal ban on the use of hand-held cell phones by interstate truck and bus drivers. According to research by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), commercial vehicle drivers who reach for a cell phone are 3 times more likely to cause a crash. Drivers dialing on a cell phone are 6 times more likely to crash. The FMCSA banned text messaging by commercial drivers in September 2010.

Proposed penalties for violations of the rule range from up to a fine of $2750.00 to the disqualification of a commercial drivers license for repeat violators. In 2009, five hundred thousand people were injured and almost 5,500 people were killed by inattentive drivers. For more information, see the artcle entitled "U.S. DOT Proposes Rule to Ban Hand-Held Cell Phone Use for Commercial Truck and Bus Drivers" on the FMCSA website.

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A 17 year old girl from Hazelwood who was acting as a "flag girl" for an illegal street race was struck by the vehicles, and ended up in the hospital in critical condition. According to an stltoday.com article, the drivers of both vehicles, including a 19-year old man from Glen Carbon, Illinois, have been arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident. Police allege that after striking the girl, both drivers fled the scene and left her to be attended to by by-standers.

Street racing is illegal in Missouri. So is leaving the scene of an accident. A vehicle colliding with a pedestrian is commonly considered an accident just like two vehicles colliding. Depending on the severity of the property damage or injuries caused in a Missouri car accident, a driver who leaves the scene could be charged with a Felony offense, as was the case here.

Continue reading "St. Louis Drag Race Crash Suspects Arrested, Girl Injured" »