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Automobile Accidents

Choosing Car Insurance Coverage before a Louisiana Car Accident Happens

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Automobile Accidents

Attorney Explains Types of Car Insurance Louisiana Drivers Should Know About (Part A)

Are Louisiana Drunk Driving Penalties Efficient?

33 percent of all motor vehicle crash fatalities in this country are alcohol-related. In 2009, this amounted to 7,281 deaths caused by drivers with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent or more.

Law enforcement agencies continue to crack down on driving under the influence (DUI), and the percentage of accidents caused by alcohol has come a long way since 1980, when it stood at close to 50 percent. That one-third of those killed in car crashes met their death because of a drunk driver is still unacceptable, for two reasons:

Passenger cars have become much safer than in the ‘80s which, rather than fewer drunk drivers, may explain the lower number of fatalities.
For every person killed, there are dozens who are injured, some of them with life-changing injuries.

What fate awaits drunk drivers in Louisiana?

DUI First Offense (Misdemeanor)
Fine: $300 to $1,000 plus court and other fees
Jail: 10 days to 6 months (can be suspended)
Community Service: 32 hours
Substance Abuse Evaluation and Driver Improvement School required
If BAC over 0.15: Minimum mandatory 48 hours of jail
License suspension: 90 days

DUI Second Offense (Misdemeanor)
Fine: $750 to $1,000 plus court and other fees
Jail: 30 days to 6 months (can be suspended)
Community Service: 240 hours
Substance Abuse Evaluation and Driver Improvement School required
If BAC over 0.15: Minimum mandatory 96 hours of jail
License suspension: 1 year

Fines, license suspension, and jail time climb rapidly if the driver is convicted of vehicular homicide or first degree negligent vehicular injuring, or if he or she is a repeat offender. The conviction of misdemeanor is transformed in one of felony, and the vehicle is seized by the state.

Louisiana also has a Child Endangerment Law, providing additional mandatory jail sentences if a child aged 12 or younger was a passenger when the driver was arrested.

In Louisiana, it is a crime for a person under the age of 21 to drive a motor vehicle with a BAC of .02 percent or more. Special fines, sentences and penalties have been drafted for Underage DUI.

If you are the victim of a motor vehicle accident caused by someone driving under the influence, contact the car accident attorneys of the Young Firm in New Orleans immediately for a free, no-commitment evaluation of your case.