If you have been charged with a DUI/DWI in Mississippi or Tennessee then you are likely scared, and a million scenarios of what may happen to you are running through your head. [Read more…]
Caught On Tape: Officers Violating Rights At DUI Checkpoint
If you are pulled over by police in Northern Mississippi or the Memphis metro area, there are certain steps, rules, and protocols that officers must follow.
These apply at DUI checkpoints as well.
Unfortunately, police officers do not always respect the constitutional rights of citizens when pulling someone over for a traffic stop. Sadly, some officers realize that the average person does not fully understand all of their rights, and take advantage of this lack of knowledge.
In some cases, however, if you are pulled over a DUI checkpoint, officers may abuse their authority even if you do show a knowledge and thorough understanding of your rights. [Read more…]
Safety Board Asks States to Lower BAC Limit for DUIs
In a surprise announcement earlier this month, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) proposed that all states lower the legal limit of blood alcohol content from the current 0.08 to 0.05. The push by the NTSB is part of a larger objective by the federal agency to completely end the occurrence of drunk driving deaths in the United States.
The NTSB says that U.S. is behind the times in terms of its BAC limit. The agency claims that more than 100 other countries, including almost all of Western Europe have now moved to a 0.05 BAC limit. The agency says that Europe has seen a 50 percent decrease in the instances of drunk driving fatalities since implementing the new, lower limit. The NTSB says that if states lower the limit to 0.05 then an estimated 500 to 800 lives could be saved each year. [Read more…]
Mississippi DUI Ignition Interlock Law Moves Towards Implementation
A recent report found that more and more ignition interlock devices are being used in Mississippi DUI cases. Given a recent law that was signed into effect by the Governor, the use of the devices is expected to explode in the state.
The law was initially proposed by State Rep. Mark Formby who recently lost his five-year-old niece in a drunk driving accident. In April, Formby pushed for a new law which would mandate the use of ignition interlock devices for those defendants who have had previous DUI convictions.
Formby says that he cannot help but think about how different his family’s life would be had the law been in effect prior to his niece’s death. Formby says in an attempt to spare other families the same pain he endured, he became an avid advocate for the ignition interlock devices which are designed to keep an impaired driving from turning on a car. [Read more…]
Mississippi Man Dies after Crash with Drunk Driver
Mississippi Highway Patrol has announced that a 91-year-old man from Natchez, Mississippi, died last month in a terrible car accident caused by a suspected drunk driver. Highway Patrol spokesperson Sgt. Rusty Boyd said that John H. Buckles died after his truck was hit from behind on U.S. 84 and then rolled into a ditch.
Police say that the accident happened at 7:23 p.m. near the Adams County Correctional Center. Mr. Buckles was driving westbound in the far right lane when another truck driven by 30-year-old Cameron Collier smashed directly into the back of Buckle’s pickup.
Officers say the force of the accident was so great that Buckle’s truck was thrown off the roadway. Once the truck left the road it rolled several times before coming to a rest at the bottom of a ditch, upside down. Emergency responders called for an airlift for Buckles who was taken to the Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria, Louisiana but sadly died along the way. [Read more…]
Mississippi Man Arrested For DUI Charged With Drug Crime After Officers Find Pills In His Shoes
A Mississippi man from Escatawpa was arrested late last month for driving under the influence. It was only after his arrest that officers discovered he had drugs hidden in his shoes, a find that resulted in additional drug charges for the 25-year-old Moss Point, Mississippi, man.
Police say they pulled over Jessie Shelton Caudill in Escatawpa after an officer noticed the man failed to dim his bright lights while driving through a residential area with other vehicles. Officers then arrested Caudill after he failed a series of field sobriety tests.
Police took the man to the Jackson County Adult Detention Center to be booked. It was while Caudill was being processed that other officers discovered 19 prescription painkillers hidden in his shoes. Officers say they found 19 Opana (otherwise known as osymorphone) pills. Opana is a prescription drug that is similar to morphine and is prescribed to help combat moderate to severe pain. [Read more…]
Neighboring Tennessee Supreme Court To Decide Important Field Sobriety Case
The Supreme Court in neighboring Tennessee is poised to handle a potentially important topic about how much weight should be given to field sobriety tests. Specifically, the state’s highest court will consider what to do in cases where a driver passes a field sobriety test but is still suspected of being intoxicated.
The root of the problem is a case from 2009 where a defendant, David Bell, was charged with drunk driving. Surprisingly, his DUI charges came despite passing all six of the field sobriety tests administered by the arresting officer. The judge who first heard his case threw out his charges, saying that the police lacked the necessary probable cause to arrest Bell and that the blood test he was subjected to, which revealed he was indeed intoxicated (0.015 percent BAC), should also be thrown out. [Read more…]
Mississippi Close To Passing Mandatory DUI Ignition Interlock Law
A bill making its way through the Mississippi legislature would require all those convicted of DUI to install an ignition interlock device on their car if they ever want to get their driver’s license back. The measure is being sponsored by House Speaker Phillip Gunn and has now moved forward to a conference committee where leaders from both the House and Senate will attempt to reconcile their differences.
The bill would mean that someone who has been found guilty of drunk driving would be required to install a device, similar to a breathalyzer, that must be blown into before the car would be able to start. The device prevents a driver with a BAC above the legal limit (0.08 in Mississippi) from turning on the car. [Read more…]
Study Finds Texting and Driving As Dangerous As Drunk Driving
An international study recently published in the Traffic Injury Prevention Journal found that sending text messages on a cell phone leads to significant driving risks. Specifically, scientists concluded it was as dangerous as being 25% over the legal alcohol limit. The study also revealed that engaging in deep conversations while on a hands-free device was also dangerous. Those discussions that were more mundane did not appear to carry much if any driving risks.
The research relied on 12 volunteers who completed a series of driving tasks on two different days. The study assessed their braking, reaction time, speed deviation and lane changes. On one day the volunteers were asked to drive under four conditions: no phone use, simple conversation over a hands-free device, deep conversation over hands-free device and text messaging. [Read more…]
Department of Transportation Demands DUI Money Back From Mississippi After State Misspends Millions
In a shocking report released by the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Mississippi police departments were faulted for diverting federal money that was meant to help fight drunk driving into helping set up speed traps. Though Mississippi authorities were blamed for their bad decisions, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was similarly faulted for failing to prevent the misuse of money by not implementing strict enough guidelines for how the money was to be used.
The report revealed that over three years, between 2007 and 2010, the Mississippi Office of Highway Safety received nearly $21 million in federal taxpayer money meant to create and run programs to combat drunk driving. [Read more…]