An increasing number of motorists are getting charged with drunk driving offenses during the daytime hours, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol. The OHP reports that the number of drunk driving arrests in the state has increased, and many of the cases have occurred during the daytime hours.
In 2015, the OHP reports that it investigated four fatal crashes involving drunk drivers in Delaware County. The following year, that number doubled. Nearly all of those 2016 fatal accidents happened during the week instead of over the weekend. The OHP also reports that about 50 percent of the 400 OVI arrests in that county in 2016 happened on weekdays.
In Delaware County alone, OVI arrests increased by 15 percent in 2016. Troopers in the county report that they are making an average of 15 arrests each month between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Almost 50 percent of the arrests in that county last year happened during the daytime hours. Troopers do state that they are seeing an improvement so far in 2017. Since the beginning of the year, Delaware County troopers have investigated only one fatal drunk driving collision. By contrast, they had investigated seven by this time of the year in 2016.
People who are facing charges of drunk driving might want to talk to criminal defense lawyers who have experience in defending against OVI and DUI allegations. Lawyers may be able to challenge how the stops were conducted. If there were problems with the testing that was performed, they may challenge the testing and the resulting breath or blood results. In some cases, lawyers may win dismissals of the charges against their clients. In others, they might work to negotiate favorable pleas for their clients to lesser charges and reduced penalties.
