Palm Bay police officers believe that the man who drove his car into two patrol cars on Nov. 26 was intoxicated at the time of the accident. The 61-year-old man suffered minor injuries in the accident, which occurred around 10 p.m. that evening. Police say he was traveling southbound on Babcock Street when he drove his pickup truck into the rear of one police car and pushed it into another, totaling one car and extensively damaging the other. Officers were assisting a driver with a disabled car when the accident occurred and were not injured in the collisions. The suspect was taken to a Palm Bay hospital for treatment, and police say that they expect to file charges against the driver, pending their investigation.
It has been estimated that a drunk driver operates a vehicle while legally impaired an average of 80 times before they are arrested for driving under the influence. That’s an astonishing number and illustrates the scope of the drunk driving problem in this country even after decades of public awareness campaigns about the dangers of driving while impaired and significantly tougher criminal penalties to discourage people from drinking and driving. Unfortunately, it appears that tougher penalties and public safety messages have had only modest success in combating drunk driving in Florida as well.
In 2011, there were 33,625 DUI convictions in Florida from a total of 55,722 DUI tickets issued by law enforcement personnel. Although data for a county-by-county breakdown of 2011 DUI convictions in Florida counties is not yet available, the following counties led the state in DUI convictions in 2010:
- Hillsborough County (Tampa) – 3,256
- Miami-Dade (Miami) – 2,274
- Duval County (Jacksonvile area) – 2,222
- Pinellas County (St. Petersburg) – 1,824
- Palm Beach County (West Palm Beach) – 1,561
- Orange County (Orlando) – 1,383
- Brevard County (Melbourne) – 1,072
- Broward County (Fort Lauderdale) – 985
When you imagine that for each one of those DUI convictions, a convicted drunk driver operated a vehicle while drunk an average of 80 times, you can see that we have a very serious problem indeed.
Drunk drivers kill and seriously injure thousands of Floridians every year. Those victims and their families have a right to seek damages against these negligent individuals, and many seek the legal counsel of experienced Orlando drunk driving accident lawyers such as James O. Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham has been helping injured people receive the fair and just compensation they deserve since 1977 and is a fierce advocate for victims’ rights. If you would like to speak with Mr. Cunningham and have an aggressive Orlando personal injury lawyer represent you, call him today at 888-FLA-AUTO (888-352-2886).
James O. Cunningham
Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a vehicle accident, call toll-free at 1-888-FLA-Auto (1-888-352-2886).
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