Of significant interest to Southern California DUI Defense Attorney David A. Welch is the report released in December 2011 by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation. The study concluded that the number of drunken-driving arrests for women has grown significantly over the past years. The study specifically finds that over the past decade, there has been a 36% increase in the amount of women arrested for Driving Under the Influence.
Not surprisingly, the Traffic Injury Research Foundation study was triggered by the horrific 2009 Driving Under the Influence (DUI) I accident by mother Diane Schuler. Schuler drover her minivan down the wrong side of a New York highway, causing a crash that killed herself, her daughter, her three nieces and three men in the opposing car. Toxicology reports indicated that Schuler was drunk and high.
Stephen Bloch, a researcher from AAA, says that DUI cases for women between the ages of 21 to 24 have doubled in the last 10 years. In San Diego County, the fatal incidents involving women with ages 18-24 increased by 124%, from 49 accidents to 110.
Bloch noted that men's involvement with drunken driving is not increasing while women's statistics have risen significantly. He believes that among the factors that have affected this number are the number for women taking the wheel and logging more miles.
Bloch also blames the intense marketing of alcohol to females in the rise of female DUI related accidents. He said that alcoholic beverages have become more appealing to the female demographic with the introduction of sweeter drinks.
Arguably, this unlikely increase may have in part been caused by the growing number of young female celebrities being arrested because of DUI. These high profile DUI arrests include, Lindsay Lohan , Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton. The reported details of the Southern California DUI Arrests are as follows:
Lindsay Lohan was first arrested for DUI in May 2007 following a minor car accident. Only two months later, she was taken into custody for suspicion of drunk driving and cocaine possession.
Following her first DUI, Lohan spent 84 minutes in jail after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of cocaine and no contest to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 percent and one count of reckless driving.
Nicole Richie was arrested after being pulled over while driving her black Mercedes under the influence. Reportedly, the arresting agency received several 911 calls about a car matching Richie's driving the wrong way down a Burbank highway.
Paris Hilton was arrested and charged with suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI). Los Angeles, California police stopped the 25 year-old hotel heiress and social icon in Hollywood around 12:30 am Thursday after noticing her driving "erratically."
LA Police Officers observed symptoms of intoxication and conducted a field sobriety test, which Hilton reportedly failed. A breath test registered a blood alcohol level just above the California legal limit of .08. She was charged with a misdemeanor DUI and released.
If you have been charged with drunk driving in Southern California you will want to hire a qualified Southern California DUI defense attorney. Contact the Law Offices of David A. Welch at 800-384-6502 to help you fight not only your California DUI charge, but help you save your California Driver's License.
