Have you or a loved one ever had a run in with the law? Were you prepared for everything you needed to know in regards to a criminal attorney, criminal defense options or what you different rights are? If you were prepared and felt like you possessed all the necessary knowledge to handle the situation well, you are one of few. It is not often that, on top of having a run in with the law and undergoing a stressful situation, someone is well versed in legal terminology and knows the necessary steps to take and rights that a citizen has in the United States.
So, what are some of the common activities that people in America engage in that could possibly result in a criminal conviction and the need for a criminal defense attorney? Keep reading for two things to consider every time you get behind the wheel of a car so that you will not have to deal with your own criminal defense options.
1. Do not get behind the wheel of a car and use your cell phone.
Motor vehicle crashes result in injuries, deaths and criminal convictions every single day in the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, statistics from 2014 show that 32,675 people died in total from a car crash. While that statistic is down a bit from the 32,94 people that died in 2013 from car crashes, it is still a staggeringly high death toll. On top of deaths, each day in 2014 6,400 people were injured from car crashes and car accidents.
One activity people engage in that results in car accidents and car crashes is using your cell phone while you are driving. There are on average 660,000 people driving their cars while operating a cell phone at any moment in the United States. That statistic is not just for a single day. It is for any single moment of any day of the week.
If you plan on using a cell phone while driving your car, you increase the chances that you are going to get injured or injure someone else in a car accident by three times the likelihood if you were not using your cell phone. Looking down at a small device to text, look at social media or pick a new song could result in an accident at any given moment in time.
2. Do not get behind the wheel of a car after drinking alcohol.
Another activity people engage in that can result in a criminal conviction or the need for a DUI attorney is drinking before driving. While less than 4,000 people are arrested every day for driving under the influence, there are around 300,000 people who choose to get behind the wheel after drinking each and every day in the United States.
Oftentimes, someone thinks they have done it before without issue, so it is okay to continue engaging in reckless behavior. For instance, someone generally drives drunk around 80 times before they are likely to get arrested for the first time. However, despite the small number of arrests made for DUIs, there are statistics that show just how dangerous it is to drive while drunk. Drunk driving crashes cause injuries to people every two minutes.
Not to mention, on top of the pain and suffering coming from the accident, injuries and potential death, the cost of a DUI conviction can be very expensive. On average, you will spend around $20,000 or more if you are driving while drunk and arrested.
Have you ever needed to resort to different criminal defense options due to operating a motor vehicle and engaging in one of the aforementioned activities? Let us know in the comments what your experience was like finding a criminal attorney and discussing your criminal defense options.
