The introduction of self-driving cars opens up so many possibilities. One of the most exciting opportunities is the availability of safer transportation. However, is the self-driving car the answer to preventing drunk driving? At this point, there are more questions than answers. Who is excited about the forward movement of putting self-driving cars on the roads? Why others have concerns with DUI incidents and the self-driving car. Where does the driver’s responsibility stop?
Preventable Accidents
The majority of fatal vehicle accidents come down to a few basic causes, which are all related to the human condition.
As a whole, the United States struggles with driving while intoxicated as 31 percent of vehicle accident fatalities in the U.S. in 2015 were caused by drunk drivers. South Africa was the country with the most fatalities as almost 6 out of 10 deaths on the road involved alcohol consumption, but the U.S. ranks as one of the worst countries for 
Those who have ever had cause to look up drunk driving laws know that across the U.S., the rule is that any BAC 0.08 percent or higher is trouble. That’s because every state has laws setting 0.08 percent BAC at the level of legal intoxication. Except for rare cases, like young drivers under 21 or commercial vehicle operators, everyone else just needs to keep their blood alcohol concentration below 0.08 to stay on the right side of the law. As of now, that’s no longer the case.
Most people understandably believe that if a person commits a crime, he or she (and he or she alone) should be made to suffer the penalties associated with the crime. After all, if your cousin was convicted of shoplifting, it wouldn’t seem fair that you’re the one stuck paying for the stolen goods. Though it may not seem fair, it happens all the time in the context of civil forfeiture laws where property used in the commission of a crime can be confiscated by the government, even if the property belongs to someone else. Thankfully, things may be changing in Minnesota, where Governor Mark Dayton recently signed a new civil forfeiture law. To learn more about how the civil forfeiture process works in Minnesota, keep reading.
There are always ample interesting DWI law-related topics in the news from new technology to laws to newsworthy cases. Whereas criminal law is often discussed, it is also important to understand that an individual who drives while impaired may face not only criminal charges and penalties but civil ones as well. While the state is responsible for filing criminal charges against the impaired driver for the criminal offense of DWI/DUI, the accident’s victim may also seek damages against the impaired motorist if that motorist caused the accident in question.
Just a couple of days can make a big difference in the consequences of a DWI for college students in Minnesota. That’s because Minnesota takes under-age drinking extremely seriously, so a college student under age 21 who is caught drinking and driving faces much stricter limits and much stiffer penalties.
People seldom know a lot of details about how the criminal justice system operates, they tend to instead focus on some of the more interesting highlights. Most folks have heard of about the right to remain silent, though they might not totally understand what it means. Same thing with the right to a lawyer, that usually rings a bell. And what about the requirement that a jury deliver a unanimous decision? Sure. Well… not quite, actually. A recent case in Louisiana is attempting to challenge the state’s law that allows for a defendant to be convicted of murder without unanimous agreement of the jury. To find out more about the law and the case challenging it, keep reading.
The aspiration of many in the legal field is to assure that the U.S. criminal justice system is blind; blind to the financial circumstances of defendants, to a person’s gender, sexuality and race. Decisions about guilt or innocence should be based entirely on facts, not influenced by stereotypes or assumptions based on a person’s background. Thankfully, the U.S. Supreme Court recently reiterated its clear agreement and, in doing so, allowed a death row inmate in Texas an opportunity to appeal his death sentence after determining that he may have been harmed by race-based stereotyping.
Amidst all of the talk and publicity surrounding DWI law-related news regarding new legislation and potential criminal punishments following a DWI conviction, in addition to these serious criminal sanctions, Minnesota’s administrative sanctions may add considerably to a defendant’s headache.
Blood alcohol testing (BAC) technology continues to improve in the fight to curb drunk driving and to better identify individuals who are driving while intoxicated. Among one of the most interesting DWI law-related technological topics involves the use of infrared technology.
