According to statistics presented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2009, 10,839 people lost their lives in traffic accidents that involved a driver with a BAC of.
08% or greater.
This accounted for approximately 32% of traffic fatalities.
In Georgia that same year, 331 people were killed in traffic collisions involving at least one drunk driver.
Drunk driving is a national problem; however, many who drink and drive will never get caught.
On average, a drunk driver has been drunk 80 times before their first arrest and this year; nearly 11,000 people will die in a drunk driving crash - that amounts to one person every 50 minutes.
Furthermore, one in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetime.
There is no magic number when it comes to how many drinks it takes to become legally intoxicated.
Factors such as body weight, sex, and whether or not you have been eating play a role in how quickly alcohol is absorbed in the blood stream.
The issue with alcohol-related crashes is that one can be blamed for an auto accident because there was alcohol in their system, even when they weren't legally at fault.
This is where an attorney comes in.
If you had a couple of drinks before the crash, yet the other driver caused the accident, you could still fall in the gray area and be charged with DUI.
An experienced attorney will understand how the system works and will be able to effectively challenge the evidence against you.
Were you arrested for drunk driving? Were you involved in an auto accident, and was someone injured as a result? If you answered yes to any of these questions then it is crucial that you retain the services of an experienced DUI defense lawyer immediately.
It is not uncommon for two or more vehicles to be involved in an auto accident, and for one of the drivers to be arrested for drinking and driving.
Just because a driver had a couple of drinks, however,does not mean that they caused the accident.
Unfortunately, law enforcement can be too anxious to make an arrest if a driver shows any signs of having been drinking in the hours prior to the accident.
It is unlawful to operate a motor vehicle with a BAC of.
08% or greater.
If you were caught with a BAC above the legal limit and you did cause an accident or injuries as a result of alcohol intoxication, then you stand to face serious penalties.
Accidents caused by drunk driving can result in serious bodily injury.
That being said, these types of cases are prosecuted as a felony in the state of Georgia.
This means that if you were in an accident that caused death or injury and your BAC was at or above the legal limit, you could face anywhere from one to five years in prison.
If convicted, you would also be facing a five-year license revocation, fines, probation and other penalties.
There are a few key factors to take into consideration when considering the subject of criminal charges arising from auto accidents involving drunk drivers.
First and foremost, involvement in an auto accident while DUI does not automatically make the drunk driver responsible for causing the accident.
In addition to being "under the influence" of alcohol or drugs, the driver must have actually done or failed to do something that caused the collision to occur.
Running a red light, for example, may constitute behavior that would result in the driver facing criminal charges not only for DUI but for DUI causing injury to another person.
In order to seek and secure a conviction against a driver who is accused of causing an auto accident while DUI, the prosecuting attorney will need to prove the following elements:

• The defendant had an unlawful blood alcohol level of.
  08% or above and/or had abilities that were impaired by alcohol or drugs;
• The defendant acted or failed to act (such as violating a traffic law or failing to exercise reasonable caution while driving) and this caused an auto accident; and
• Another person was injured or lost their life in the collision.
  

Hiring an Attorney to Challenge Your Charges Situations like these will require a skilled and aggressive DUI defense attorney.
Your lawyer may need to hire accident reconstruction experts, and they may need to interview a number of witnesses.
The fact that you had been drinking before the car accident occurred is not enough to determine your guilt.
There is a possibility that the fault was not yours at all; you could have very well been the victim of an accident, yet you were arrested because you had an alcoholic beverage earlier in the day.
These types of cases are a cause for concern, and if you don't have a highly experienced lawyer thoroughly investigating your case you could easily slip through the cracks and become convicted, even if you were not the one at fault.
If you have been charged with felony DUI, it is essential that you attack this situation head-on.
Retaining the services of an experienced DUI defense lawyer could make or break your case.
The last thing you want to do is plead guilty and accept your punishment without fighting your charges.
Your attorney can challenge whether or not you were at fault in the accident.
They can also challenge the validity of any blood or breath tests that were taken.
A full examination of the police report we be done in order to unearth any violations made by law enforcement during the time of your arrest.
No matter what the details of your case may be, you should take every possible step to reduce the penalties you are currently facing.
Please do not hesitate to contact a skilled and knowledgeable DUI lawyer today!