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Illinois laws to prevent and check drunk driving: Part I

by | Aug 19, 2015 | DUI

Many car accidents that occur in Illinois every year are found to be alcohol-related. Drunk driving accidents in Illinois have not only led to serious cases of injuries and fractures, but have also claimed the lives of over 3,866 people in the past few years. Strict laws were demanded by Illinois residents in order to make their roads safer for their children and their loved ones.

State authorities have not only established strict laws in order to curb the number of drunk driving accidents in the state, but have also initiated various awareness programs in order to make the public aware of the problems and imminent dangers of drinking and driving, not only for other people on the road but also for the drunk drivers themselves. Initially, it is important for people to understand the definition of drunk driving according to state laws. Any non-commercial driver who is found by the authorities to have a blood alcohol concentration of over 0.08 percent is considered too drunk to operate a vehicle legally. However, the law applies only to adult drivers.

Younger drivers who have not yet turned 21-years-old, which is the legal age for drinking, are not allowed to have any alcohol in their system. That is referred to as the “Zero Tolerance” law. If any driver is found to be in violation of the state traffic laws because of alcohol, the police are authorized to arrest that driver and initiate a case against the person, depending on the severity of the crime.

In order to conduct regular examinations of all vehicles and drivers, Illinois has sobriety checkpoints. All drivers who pass through such sobriety checkpoints are temporarily stopped and subject to standardized field sobriety tests, such as breath tests, in order to determine if the driver is intoxicated. Having such laws in place is expected to decrease the number of fatal drunk driving accidents. Many lives may be saved as a result.

Source: CDC.gov, “Sobering facts: Drunk driving in Illinois,” Accessed on Aug. 13, 2015

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