Under current state laws, drivers who may be responsible for fatal Floirda car accidents do not always needed to be tested for drugs and alcohol. Some groups want to see those laws changed, claiming that legislation changes can help prevent Florida drunk driving accidents.
Under current laws, police need to have a reasonable suspicion or a probable cause to believe that a driver in a fatal car accident is drunk or using drugs before administering a drug or alcohol test. In other states, drivers who cause fatal accidents are required to submit to a blood test to determine whether alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash. Currently, this is not the case in Florida.
According to some experts, this legislative environment can mean that drunk drivers are released early, to re-offend. For example, if a driver causes a Florida truck accident and is not tested for drugs and alcohol but is driving impaired, that driver will likely receive a lighter sentence than they would have received if it was known that they were driving impaired. This means that they will be free to re-offend sooner. Without a law requiring all drivers causing car accidents to be tested, there is simply no way to know how many car accidents are truly related to impairment.
Groups and families who have lost loved ones to Florida car accidents have been working to get laws passed which would allow all surviving drivers in fatal car accidents to be tested for drugs and alcohol. There are petitions to change the law as well as media attention on the topic. However, so far there has been little push to change the law.
Groups have been pushing to change the Florida law since 2006, but they claim that some groups, including defense attorneys, have objected to the regulation change. Some defense attorneys feel that any such law would be excessively intrusive and would be unconstitutional. They also note that currently drivers have the option to take a blood test, although drivers have to pay for this test themselves and the test is completely mandatory.
If you have been injured in a Florida DUI, contact the Flaxman Law Group to arrange for a free initial consultation to get the facts about your case and your options. The Flaxman Law Team has thousands of cases of experience in the South Florida area, helping personal injury victims in Hollywood, Miami, Homestead, and beyond. Contact the Flaxman Law Group today to find out what your legal options are.