About two-thirds of dog owners admit they have engaged in a distracting behavior while driving with their dogs, according to a recent survey from the American Automobile Association (AAA). Many of these canine passengers — about 84 percent — are free to roam the car as they please.
The biggest surprise associated with unrestrained pets in the car is that few motorists seem to understand how distracting a pet roaming inside the car can be. Continue reading
Colorado law makes it illegal to drive under the influence of any drug — even marijuana. Drugs that slow reaction time and impair clear thinking can lead to devastating effects if you get behind the wheel. You can receive a DUI if you drive while high, even if you just took over-the-counter cough medicine, used marijuana, or are on certain prescription medications.
In 2013, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) reported 103 roadway fatalities statewide due to drugged drivers. Almost 13 percent of these drivers had only marijuana in their system when tested.
It is also important to note that these statistics are from the year before marijuana became legal in Colorado; a state report released in spring of 2016 shows a three percent increase in marijuana DUIs and a 44 percent increase in traffic fatalities involving THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound found in marijuana).
THC can affect your body in many ways, and almost all of them can impact your ability to drive a car. Some of these effects include:
Some strains of cannabis also have different effects than others. For example, indica strains are often prescribed for insomnia, nausea, and chronic pain because they tend to be extremely sedating. They also have a higher level of THC, and may impair users more than other strains.
While you may not get arrested for possessing marijuana for personal use in Colorado anymore, you may still face serious legal consequences for using the drug and getting behind the wheel.
Driving while high can end in a license suspension, jail time, and fines. Causing a crash can result in elevated charges, including vehicular assault or homicide.
You are probably aware of the legal BAC limit for drunk driving, 0.08 percent. But do you know the legal limit of marijuana? Under Colorado law, you cannot have more than five nanograms of active THC per milliliter of blood and drive without facing legal consequences.
In addition, Colorado has open container laws outlining the use of marijuana on public roadways in the state. Per this law, drivers cannot have an open container — meaning any container with the seal broken — in the passenger compartment of a vehicle in Colorado.
Drivers can also face penalties for breaking the state’s open container statute if there is any evidence of marijuana use in the cabin of the car. This includes dirty pipes, vapes, and empty containers.
To ensure all motorists are aware of these laws, the CDOT is working closely with a number of other agencies to implement an anti-drugged driving campaign statewide. The education efforts of this campaign center on the dangers of driving while high on marijuana, while using illegal drugs, or while taking certain prescription medications.
In the vast majority of cases, the driver who choose to get behind the wheel while impaired is liable for the damages sustained in a drugged driving crash. Driving under the influence, whether using alcohol or drugs, is a serious offense under Colorado law. Those who choose to drive while high and cause accidents often face major legal and civil consequences. This is especially true if the accident leads to severe, disabling injuries or death.
If you suffered injuries because of a drugged driver, you are eligible to file a claim against him/her and collect compensation for your medical treatment, lost wages, and more. In many cases, courts award punitive damages designed to punish the driver in addition to the victim’s actual losses.
If a drugged driver caused a crash and you suffered serious injuries, you should schedule a free case evaluation with a skilled Denver car accident attorney. This consultation serves many purposes, including:
If you decide to enlist the assistance of a lawyer, she will go to work collecting evidence to bolster your claim. This evidence varies widely from case to case, but often includes:
If you suffered injuries as a result of an accident involving a drugged driver, contact us today. The attorneys at the Law Offices of Dianne Sawaya, LLC can help you get the compensation you need while holding the impaired driver responsible for his or her actions.
Call us at 303-758-4777 to schedule your free consultation.
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) recently conducted a survey that found a surprising number of young adult drivers in the state lacked knowledge about the state’s drunk driving laws.
In addition to the survey, CDOT also conducted an experiment to determine how young adults view drunk driving. The experiment, called “A Few Brews – Social Experiment,” found that most people gave little thought to a driver getting behind the wheel even after several drinks. Continue reading
Manufacturers are jumping on the self-driving car bandwagon left and right, and tech giant Google has been testing its version for several years. Both Tesla and Volvo announced their plans to develop fully autonomous cars last year, and Teslas are already available equipped with the first-generation Autopilot. Even Chevrolet invested in self-driving technology.
It seems that semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles are the wave of the future for automakers, but no one is certain how accident liability will work when there is no human driver behind the wheel. Continue reading
Pokémon GO gets users out into their neighborhood, exploring both the augmented reality and the real world around them. Each player is on the hunt for as many of the Pokémon characters as possible, and the creatures can pop up almost anywhere.
From a Rhydon hanging out on 16th Street to an Onyx visiting the camels at the zoo, Denver is no stranger to these creatures. The difference with these two, though, is that they are in public places. The trouble begins when they instead spawn on private property.
This has become problematic nationwide, with users trespassing onto private property to catch rare or elusive Pokémon. Property owners in New Jersey and Michigan both filed class-action lawsuits against the game developer due to this. In addition, users who attempt to play while driving and a variety of other incidents have raised a number of legal concerns about the game. Continue reading
The traffic and mountainous terrain of Colorado highways make them daunting for passenger vehicles to navigate, and even more for semi-trucks. These vehicles are significantly larger and heavier than a passenger vehicle and carry more power behind their wheels.
But with this power also comes limitations, mainly in visibility and reaction times. These two shortcomings are often the cause of truck accidents, but savvy drivers can take steps to prevent these accidents.
Five of the most common types of truck accidents are:
While driver negligence or mechanical failures cause some of these accidents, drivers who do not take extra care when driving near semi-trucks are often the cause.
Most drivers do not consider the size of a truck’s blind spots, how a truck’s size affects its ability to turn, and how long it takes to come to a complete stop. Continue reading
Have you ever driven for a long period and suddenly realized you did not remember the last few miles? Some drivers call this phenomenon “driving on auto-pilot” especially if they are driving a familiar route. But the truth behind this lapse in concentration is a significant problem on Colorado’s roads: drowsy driving.
Drowsy driving is exactly what it sounds like, driving when you are fatigued. This type of dangerous behavior is not limited to falling asleep at the wheel. Drowsy driving might include behaviors such as:
When you drive drowsy, you are impairing three important driving skills: Continue reading
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), distracted driving causes the deaths of eight people and injures 1,161 more victims every day. While distracted driving comes in many forms, cell phone use has become the most predominant in recent years.
Aside from text messages and phone calls, certain apps have made the news for their potential risks when used on the road. Three of the most recent issues come from the Waze navigation app, the Snapchat social app, and the Pokémon GO game app.
At face value, Waze seems like a huge benefit to drivers. The app gives real-time traffic information and updates on construction, road hazards, and accidents. The first major concern with Waze is that it can be a direct distraction. The app encourages users to post “updates” about their trip and allows them to add information about hazards while driving.
Another issue with Waze is that it allows the identification of speed traps, hidden police, and speeding or red light cameras. Some officials fear drivers are using this information to protect themselves from speeding laws by knowing where to slow down because users reported speed enforcement is nearby.
Because Waze is a navigation app, it is not illegal to use it while driving to provide navigation. However, Colorado’s 2009 distracted driving law made it illegal to drive “while using a cell phone to text-message or send similar forms of transmission, while behind the wheel.” Continue reading
The latest news is not looking good for motorists on America’s roads. The National Safety Council (NSC) reports that fatalities and injuries on roads nationwide are on the rise. The totals for the first six months of 2016 easily topped the totals for the first half of both 2015 and 2014.
This news comes on the heels of reports from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) that road fatalities in the state increased almost 12 percent in 2015 over the previous year. Continue reading
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