DUI Car Accidents in the Tampa, FL Area: Contact a Personal Injury Law Firm to Learn Your Rights

Each year in Florida, more than 16,000 people are injured in alcohol-related car accidents, plus more than 1,200 people are killed. On a local level, this can be broken down into over 80 deaths in Hillsborough County, 40 in Pinellas, 40 in Pasco, 43 in Polk, and 50 in Sarasota-Manatee. Folks who are injured or killed in alcohol-related car accidents in the Tampa, Florida area could be our neighbors, friends, co-workers, and family members. As a matter of fact, alcohol related car accidents are so common that Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) estimates about 30-40 percent of us will be involved in one of these accidents at sometime during our lives.

Intoxicated drivers who cause car accidents are clearly behaving negligently and are almost always found to be at-fault for the damages and injuries they cause. If you or someone you love has been injured in one of these tragic accidents in the Tampa area, you should discuss your situation with a Tampa car accident lawyer. By speaking with local attorneys about your accident and injuries, you will gain valuable information about the laws that are designed to protect your right to be reimbursed for your losses.

The legal limit for driving under the influence, or DUI, in Tampa, Florida is a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08. This legal limit has been adopted in all 50 states. To reach a .08 blood alcohol concentration, it is estimated that a 100-pound person would need to consume just two drinks in a one-hour period, while a 180-pound person would need to consume four drinks within an hour. (A “drink” is assumed to be a one-ounce glass of 100-proof liquor, a 4-ounce glass of table wine, or a 12-ounce beer.)

While a person with a .08 or higher BAC is considered legally impaired, the effects of alcohol can begin well before this limit is reached. Due to this fact, a police officer in the Tampa, Florida area may arrest a driver for DUI at any time the officer believes the driver is impaired, even if that driver has a blood alcohol concentration below .08.

It may seem unfair for Florida police officers to arrest a person for DUI when that person tests below the .08 limit. Tests show, however, that most people experience some loss of judgment at a .02 BAC. This judgment loss includes a decline in the ability to visually track objects and perform more than one task at a time. While the changes at .02 are small, they can be significant if the person fails to react appropriately to an emergency situation while driving a vehicle.

At a .05 BAC level, not only are a person's visual and multi-tasking abilities diminished, but the person also will lose some small muscle control, alertness, and inhibition. This leads to reduced coordination when steering a vehicle and a greater chance of poor decisions behind the wheel.

Once a person reaches the .08 BAC level, he or she will have impaired balance, vision, speech, hearing, concentration, and reaction time. It is estimated that a driver with a .08 BAC is 6-11 times more likely to be involved in a car accident. This puts many innocent people at risk of serious injuries and death.

The Tampa car accident law firm of Dale Appell, P.A. is 100% dedicated to fighting for the rights of people in the greater Tampa, Florida area who have been injured—or whose loved ones have lost their lives—because of gross negligence like drunk driving. Please contact us today for a free initial consultation about your case and put our knowledge and passion for justice to work, for you.