DWI: February 2012 Archives

February 16, 2012

Drunk Drivers Must Be Stopped!

I don't understand how lawmakers have not addressed the deadly problem of drunk drivers , especially the ones getting onto our North Texas highways and crashing head on into motorists.

These criminals cause some of the worst crashes on our roads, many of them causing fatalities. There needs to be a system put into place to prevent people from going on the on-ramps in the wrong direction, as the Do Not Enter signs are obviously effective. This occurred to me this past weekend at a car rental lot where the tires would be punctured if I drove the wrong direction.

I was retained on two of these cases last month - both involving drunks on Interstate 35 late at night - and have unfortunately handled many of these over the last 31 years.

appraisal[1]_1.jpgAs you can see from one of the photographs, the collisions were violent. My three poor clients could have been killed, but the Lord was watching out for them. In fact,

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February 6, 2012

TCU Student DWI and DWT

A 21 year old TCU student, Catherine Ratelle, was arrested on Friday night after she had been drinking and texting while driving. She crashed into a tree near the TCU Library up the street.

Ratelle had a blood alcohol content of .15 -- almost two times the legal limit of .08.

She flipped her Jeep Liberty over and it landed on its side. It is lucky she - or other drivers -- were not seriously injured.fid5041.jpg

Ratelle was arrested and booked. She posted a $2,500 bond.

I often talk about the dangers of driving while intoxicated -- and driving while texting - especially by younger drivers. I have had to sue or file claims against plenty of them. But this is the first time I've read about someone doing both at the same time.

I strongly believe -- along with 80% of Americans -- that cell phone texting while driving should be restricted.

After all, statistics show that using a cell phone (even hands free) is comparable to having a blood alcohol content of .08%. And that a driver is four times as likely to get involved in an injury collision if he is texting while driving. And that 25% of accidents involve distracted driving.

Why do we allow the tragic loss of life, tremendous injuries, and vast property damage, just so people can dangerously drive while they are not watching the road? DWIs are illegal. What aren't DWTs?