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On November 30, 2018, the White House issued a proclamation declaring December National Impaired Driving Prevention month. The proclamation says,

“During National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, we recommit ourselves to the fight against impaired driving.  Every day, lives are needlessly lost and irreparably altered by collisions involving drugs or alcohol.  These horrible tragedies are avoidable, and each of us must make responsible decisions to prevent them and keep our communities safe.”

The President said in the proclamation that his Administration is working on “providing treatment for those suffering from alcohol and substance abuse, improving data collection and toxicology practices, and ensuring that our law enforcement professionals receive vital resources to help prevent impaired driving and to respond to the tragedies it causes.”

Nearly 11,000 people died in alcohol-related crashes in 2017. This equates to 29 percent of all traffic fatalities. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), drunk driving is still the #1 cause of deaths on our roadways.

To bring down the number of those killed or injured on our roadways because of drunk driving, MADD is focusing on four important steps everyone can take today to stop these senseless accidents tomorrow:

1. High-Visibility Law Enforcement
2. Ignition Interlocks
3. Advanced Vehicle Technology
4. Public Support

Drugged driving has also become a major problem on our roads. The Insurance Journal reported in May 2018 that marijuana and opioids were found in a high percentage of drivers killed in car crashes.  

Dr. Jim Hedlund, formerly of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), said, “Drugs can impair, and drug-impaired drivers can crash. But it’s impossible to understand the full scope of the drugged driving problem because many drivers who are arrested or involved in crashes, even those who are killed, are not tested for drugs.” 

MADD recognizes that reducing drugged driving is a challenge because of the variety of drugs, and their different levels of impairment. Because of this, MADD is supporting a “full implementation of specialized training programs to assist law enforcement officers in detecting drugged drivers.”

It is recognized that Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) is the foundation of impaired driving detection, and approximately 800,000 law enforcement officers in the United States are trained. However, not all states require this training.

Florida is one of the states that does require SFST training. This training includes

• Recognizing and interpreting evidence of DWI
• The legal aspects of DWI enforcement
• Administering and interpreting the SFSTs
• Proper documentation techniques
• Describing DWI evidence clearly and convincingly
• SFST proficiency 

“Eliminating impaired driving should be everyone’s goal. To achieve this goal it must start with each individual who gets behind the wheel of a vehicle and those surrounding him or her. One step at a time, one person at a time, we can eliminate these senseless preventable accidents,” said Fort Myers DUI Accident Attorney, Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.

Attorney Spivey says, “Should you or a loved one be injured in a vehicle accident, we are available to assist you 24/7. There are no costs or attorney fees unless we make a monetary recovery for you.”

Fort Myers DUI Accident Attorney, Hurt By Drunk Driver Attorney, Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one (1%) percent of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.