They say that alcohol is the devil’s brew and indeed, many of its effects have proven to be a trigger for bad things to happen and the consequences undoubtedly tragic.

Most recently in Castro Valley in San Francisco, a suspected drunk driver was killed after he tried to evade the Alameda County’s sheriff’s deputies.

He was first cited in Mission Boulevard driving his Lexus in reverse and when confronted by the authorities, he was slurring his speech. He then tried to take off and a chase happened from Highway 238 to Redwood Road.

The drunk driver lost control of his car and struck a parked car, a traffic light and a retaining wall. His Lexus flipped and he was ejected before it burst into flames. He was later on pronounced dead at the Eden Medical Center.

The man is just one of the many Americans who have become another statistic in the increasing numbers of drunk driving fatalities. In 2008, California had 1,029 alcohol-related deaths while the national figures yielded 11,700 fatalities in highway crashes involving a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.

It’s disheartening and rather terrifying to think that despite the presence and enforcement of the DUI laws and the fact that people have been exposed to the reality of drunk driving, many motorists continue to do so.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), out of ten Americans, three will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives. There is too much danger on the roads because of these drunk drivers who refuse to be responsible about their choices.

All alcoholic beverages contain ethanol, which is considered as a psychoactive drug. A Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of .06-.10 can already impair a person’s reasoning, reflexes, depth perception, and peripheral vision. The person’s behavior is also affected and he may start to exhibit disinhibition, blunted feelings, extroversion.

Some studies have also indicated that persons under the influence of alcohol have a reduced understanding of the consequences of their action or behavior.

This is the reason why a lot of drunk people, not just drunk drivers, do many stupid things they may regret later on.

Drunk drivers are more apt to speed, commit traffic violations and drive the wrong way not just because they’re mentally impaired but also because of a false sense of confidence.

The driver who died in Castro Valley most likely thought he was making a great escape but in the end, instead of losing the cops who were on his trail, he lost his life.

Driving while under the influence of alcohol is one of the worst decisions anyone could make, not just for himself but also for other people who are also on the road. Because in the end, you can’t say the devil made you do it because you only have yourself to blame.

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A Fountain Valley man is facing up to 13 years in prison for his reckless decision to run a red light which caused a devastating car crash Jan. 25, 2008 and killed Richard Lauvao of Santa Ana.

The force of the crash was so strong that Lauvao was nearly decapitated by his seat belt. Kenny Minh Phan, the driver who ran a red light, took off and abandoned his damaged Honda Accord instead of helping the victim.

Phan was later arrested after he was identified by the DNA he left on his car. He is currently on trial and is facing charges of felony hit-and-run causing great bodily injury and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

Running a red light is the most common traffic violation associated with traffic control signals and devices. In California, it is mandated that the driver of any vehicle, the person in charge of any animal, any pedestrian, and the motorman of any streetcar shall obey the instructions of any official traffic signal unless otherwise directed by a police or traffic officer or when it is necessary for the purpose of avoiding a collision or in case of other emergency.

Anybody can easily become a red light violator, it often happens when drivers try to beat the yellow light and end up running through the red light. Inattentive and distracted drivers may fail to observe the traffic signals and inadvertently run through a red light.

Running through a red light or a stop sign may seem like an insignificant and as others may choose to believe, forgivable offense. It’s easy to use that excuses that you’re in a hurry or that everybody does it anyway but in truth, the consequences of violating this traffic rule can be criminally fatal.

In 2007, almost 900 people were killed and an estimated 153,000 were injured in crashes that involved red light running. More than half of the fatalities of running the red light are other motorists and pedestrians.

Also, in case of a car accident, any person who is caught running on a red light or in violation of a traffic signal is presumed to be the negligent party.

It may seem harmless to run a red light. But the risk you take in every second of speeding is hardly worth the number of lives you could destroy when you fail to follow the traffic signals. You could hit other people who are legally running their vehicles because you choose not to stop.

The red in traffic signals is a warning to stop. And whether running the red light was an inadvertent mistake or a reckless and conscious decision, drivers would have to face the consequences of their actions which in the case of running a red light, is often tragic.

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While men and troubled young celebrities are most often perceived as the culprits behind the incidence of DUI, you may be surprised to hear that more and more mothers and responsible female executives are getting collared for drunk driving.

The statistics recently released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the FBI reveal that women in the United States drink more and that the gap between drunken-driving arrests among women and men are getting narrower these days.

The spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Rae Tyson said that there are parts in the country where the majority of impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes are female.

Dianne Schuler was described friends and family as a devoted mom and businesswoman but she took 8 lives, including her own in a wrong-way drunken car crash in New York. Autopsy reports also say that she was under the influence of drugs.

Even the daughter of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges when she was stopped by the police after going to McDonald’s with three kids in the car. Another woman caused the death of her daughter’s friend after a night of clubbing.

FBI figures show that nationwide, the number of women arrested for driving under the influence or alcohol or drugs was 28.8 percent higher in 2007 than it was in 1998, while the number of men arrested was 7.5 percent lower.

The rising number of women drunk drivers are attributed to the fact that women are driving more, are behaving as recklessly as men and because of the pressure and recession, more women are getting into excessive drinking, overeating, smoking and drug abuse.

The arrest of drunken mothers with children in the car was even called by Chuck Hurley, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving as the ultimate form of child abuse.

While women empowerment is ultimately a blessing, the abuse of it can become a curse. Women often lead more stressful lives than men because not only are they now required to have a career, but they must also raise their children well and be loving wives. There is indeed pressure to become a “supermom”.

This in turn, leads to the abuse of substances in an attempt to escape or at least, feel better about the burden they bear as women. And sadly, regardless of intent, women end up making bad choices, like drunk driving and often put their lives and those of their families’ at risk.

Most of the DUI ads and campaigns are directed towards men and teenagers but it’s a good thing that now, the government realizes that female DUI offenders can be just as rampant and fatal.

In this generation where the lines of equality have been blurred, where women are just as empowered and driven as men, inevitably, they are also bound to make the same mistakes. Tragically, supermom or not, they are hardly invincible.

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From driving under the influence to driving under and with influence.

A Westminster councilman, Andy Quach earned the ire of many of his residents when he lost control of his car, hit another vehicle with three occupants and slammed into a power pole which knocked out the power of more than 300 homes in his city.

The car Quach struck suffered minor damage but the three occupants were fortunately not injured. The police arrested Quach on suspicion of driving under the influence and while he did not submit to a breath test, he took a blood test.

Quach had previous traffic citations: two were dismissed and one he had to pay a fine of $25 for being found guilty of traveling at an unsafe speed for prevailing conditions.

The beleaguered councilor said that he will take full responsibility for the crash and that he was glad no one got hurt (although he did say that he got injured but didn’t elaborate). He explained that he came from dinner with friends and “nodded off.”

Regardless of the fact whether Quach was driving drunk or was sleepy or fatigued while driving, impaired driving is the main reasons for motor vehicle accidents .

Impaired driving, whether it is due to the influence of drugs or alcohol and driver fatigue can cause driving skills to drop even as the driver’s reaction time and concentration on the road gets lowered.

This is often fatal especially since operating a vehicle requires due diligence and skill to avoid accidents that would injure himself and other people.

One of the disgruntled residents remarked that he was disappointed in Quach as he was supposedly a public figure and should set an example. Likewise, he added that “Everyone should be treated equally and held accountable for his actions.”
Mayor Margie Rice commented that Quach made a terrible mistake but that he’s and that they need to accept it and go on from there.

In California, DUI first time convicted offenders are sentenced to no less than 96 hours of jail time and imposes a maximum limit of 6 months with a fine of $390 – $1,000.

Quach, whose blood test results have yet to be released is merely facing a misdemeanor charged. Now that’s an example of the influence of driving drunk.

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Just when you think that it’s much safer to take public transportation vehicles like buses than to drive your own vehicle. A study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that more than 500 of the unsafe tractor-trailer and bus companies who’ve been ordered to shut down are still operational.

These “reincarnated” common carrier companies were found to owe thousands of dollars in delinquent fines with violations ranging from operating without the proper license to failing to test drivers for illegal drugs and alcohol.

Greg Kutz, GAO’s managing director for special investigations in fact said that there were about 300 fatalities from bus crashes last year and that carriers ordered to shut down were made into new companies to evade fines and avoid corrective actions.

According to the investigative report, at least 20 of the roughly 220 commercial bus companies that had been fined and ordered out of service in 2007 and 2008 by federal regulators have found a new lease on their illicit life by going by a different name.

One of these bus lines in fact, is responsible for a fatal crash in 2008 where 17 people were killed when the bus blew a retreaded tire in Texas.

Several unsafe common carriers in current operation despite the order to shut down were found offenders in California, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, New York and Washington.

GAO also found that despite the efforts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s efforts to regulate errant companies, it did not have the full computer capability to identify fraudulent companies using different addresses and names.

In response to that, Congress is now looking into creating a federal standard that would give the FMCSA more power to revoke licenses and impose fines.

The government should be more rigid about regulating these common carrier companies – the mere fact that it is open for the use of the general public means that higher standards of care and diligence should be expected.

Bus accidents also yield greater and more catastrophic fatalities and injuries just by their size, the mere fact that car accidents are more likely to happen should not make agencies complacent about substandard buses.

Under the law, in case of bus accidents, as common carriers, it is not just the driver who may be held liable. Company owners as well, are vicariously liable for the damages incurred by passengers who availed of their services.

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