Laguna Hills Car Accidents Reduced by Anti-DUI Efforts

Laguna Hills in Southern Orange County, California, home of the Leisure World retirement community, is today a diverse city, often choked with traffic congestion during rush hour. As Laguna Hills car accident attorneys will tell you, car crashes have become commonplace in this city of 34,000.

Car Crashes in Laguna Hills vs. Orange County

In 2006, the California Highway Patrol's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) revealed that two people died and 189 people were injured in Laguna Hills car crashes. Pedestrian accidents caused one death and injured five. Motorcycle accidents injured seven and bicycle accidents injured nine. DUI crashes killed two and injured 33.

In one bright spot for Orange County, car accident fatalities declined approximately 9 percent from 2007 to 2008. In 2008, 59 people died in 51 car collisions, compared to 65 deaths in 58 car crashes in 2007, according to the California Highway Patrol. Car crashes on surface streets caused 79 deaths in 2008, compared to 128 in 2007. California as whole experienced a 23 percent drop in highway deaths--1,349 people died in 1,219 fatal car collisions in 2008, while 1,749 people died in 1,529 car accidents in 2007. These statistics cover freeways, toll roads and state routes.

Targeting DUI Drivers to Reduce Car Collisions

To lower the rate of car collisions in Laguna Hills, Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) targeted a variety of DUI-prone areas of the city. Part of Orange County's Avoid the 38 program, OCSD's Laguna Hills effort established sobriety checkpoints at specific streets throughout the city.

City Goes High Tech to Fight Car Accidents

Supporting these DUI programs, the city acquired a potentially effective new tool to train law enforcement officers in evaluating motorists who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Known as HawkEye, the goggle-like instrument employs infrared light to track and record a driver's eye movements at DUI checkpoints. While some drugs affect how your eyes move, others affect how your pupils react. HawkEye helps distinguish the two. Although the fingers-across-the-eyes test is still used, HawkEye records what officers see, which could be used as evidence in court.

High-tech sobriety checkpoint devices like HawkEye can be invaluable in assisting law enforcement officers to identify and ultimately prosecute the nearly 200,000 drivers arrested for DUIs every year in California.

Laguna Hills car collision lawyers realize that impaired drivers cause the injuries and deaths that plague many cities, including Laguna Hills. They support the efforts of law enforcement to safeguard the public against these dangerous and irresponsible drivers.

Immediately call an experienced and reputable Orange County Car Accident Lawyer for a free consultation at 1-800-561-4887 or contact our Newport Beach personal injury attorneys using the online form. Read more about car accidents in Orange County at the Orange County Car Accident Digest.

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