Legal outcome of intoxicated drivers involved in motor vehicle collisions

Barillo, David; Earnest, Tamar; Rhodes, Michael; Fina, Regina

Affiliations

¹Department of Surgery, Lehigh Valley Hospital Center, Allentown PA

Abstract

The legal hazards of driving under the influence (DUI) are often not appreciated by alcohol users, while the legal outcome of DUI is often not realized by the medical community.

We examined the legal course of 511 intoxicated drivers following trauma center discharge to determine if DUI arrests and convictions were made.

The proportion arrested for DUI ranged from 6% - 54% (mean 41%), and was lower in more distant or rural counties. Most intoxicated drivers in this series were not arrested.

Of those arrested, the proportion of DUI convictions was >95%. Conviction for DUI is dependant on the initial identification and arrest of intoxicated drivers following crashes.

Cited Works (1)

Year	Entry
1984	Maull KI, Kinning LS, Hickman JK. Culpability and accountability of hospitalized injured alcohol-impaired drivers: a prospective study. JAMA. October 12, 1984;252(14):1880-1883.

Cited By (2)

Year	Entry
1991	Soderstrom CA, Dischinger PC, Ho SM, Soderstrom MT. Alcohol use, driving records, and crash culpability among injured motorcycle drivers. In: 35th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 7, 1991; Toronto, Canada.219-234.
1992	McLaughlin JG, Smith RJ, Mattice CR, Scholten DJ. Hospitalization and injury influence the prosecution of drunk drivers. In: 36th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 5-7, 1992; Portland, OR.412-423.