Part of the DUI arrest statistics? Don’t automatically become part of the conviction statistics—get help from a DUI defense attorney.
Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a serious safety issue, both for the drivers and for the public. With the virtual legalization of marijuana use in our state, many people have been wondering what effect this will have on DUI incidents. People also wonder how various law enforcement efforts and judicial penalties impact DUI rates. Each year, data from the California DUI Management Information System is used to compile statistical reports that help answer some of these questions. Here are some of the highlights from the 2013 Report of the California DUI Management Information System.
DUI Accidents
Overall, DUI accidents have been decreasing in California. The report showed a small decrease in both alcohol and drug related injuries.
Between 2009 and 2012, total fatal highway accidents in California decreased from 3,148 to 2,632 while the number of accident victims found to be under the influence of marijuana increased from 105 to 402. In other words, fatal accidents decreased by 16.4 percent during a period when marijuana use by drivers increased by at least 280 percent. This should serve as an encouraging California 2013 DUI statistic for those concerned about the dangers of our marijuana policies.
DUI Arrests
There were 214,828 DUI arrests in 2013, which is an increase of about 15 percent since 2011. This is significant change over previous years when the arrest rate was actually on the decline. For example, the DUI arrest rate declined by 6.5 percent in 2010 and by 8.6 percent in 2011.
Hispanics continue to be the largest ethnic group involved in DUI arrests, with individuals being arrested at a rate that exceeds what one would expect based on the size of the population. In 2011, 42.9 percent of DUI arrests involved Hispanics while they only made up 34.8 percent of the total population.
DUI Convictions
While we don’t have figures for 2013 DUI convictions yet, in the past decade rates have hovered around 73 to 79 percent. About three quarters of convictions in a given year involve first offenders, and one quarter involve individuals with prior convictions within the past 10 years. This is an encouraging decrease since the early 1990s when more like a third of individuals convicted were repeat offenders.
DUI Help
If you have been arrested for DUI, don’t hesitate to call an expert DUI defense attorney! Your attorney will do everything in his power to help prevent you from becoming a DUI conviction statistic.
