Drug Recognition Experts can provide evidence to help establish liability in an accident.
Much progress has been made in reducing the rate of alcohol-impairment-related car accidents in California and across the country. In fact, statistics indicate that alcohol-related traffic fatalities have actually hit a plateau in the last few years. However, drugged driving remains a serious—and often underestimated—danger. Some law enforcement officers are of the opinion that drugged driving will surpass drunk driving within the next year, if it has not already.
DREs, or Drug Recognition Experts, are our best bet for keeping the streets safe from drugged drivers. DREs are law enforcement officers that have completed special training in the identification of drug-impaired drivers through a program run by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. As of June 2014, California had 1,215 DREs in law enforcement, the most of any state.
What Do DREs Do?
DREs have two important roles to play.
Role in criminal charges: A DRE can be called to assist when an arresting officer suspects an individual of drugged driving. The DRE will perform a detailed 12-step evaluation which includes reading vital signs, measuring pupil dilations under different lighting conditions, and ordering blood, urine, or saliva samples.
Role in prosecution: A DRE can be called to testify in court when an individual they have evaluated faces charges for drugged driving. They can educate the jury as to the effects of specific drugs on the body and brain and the dangers this presents when driving. This is extremely important because while the general public clearly understands that a BAC over 0.08 is dangerous, there is no equivalent uniform standard for drug use. Instead, expert testimony must be used to show the danger on a case by case basis.
What Do DREs Contribute to Car Accident Injury Claims?
In any type of car accident injury case, proving liability for the accident is extremely important. In other words, the plaintiff needs to prove that the defendant’s reckless or negligent actions directly caused the accident which in turn caused their injuries and other damages.
Accident reports created by the police play a key role in assigning liability. While even the most skilled car accident injury attorney might have trouble proving that the liable driver’s drug use caused or contributed to the accident on their own, with the expert testimony of a trained DRE to refer to, this task becomes much easier.
If a criminal conviction for drugged driving has already been secured, this will strengthen the plaintiff’s position even further and greatly improve the likelihood of a fast and favorable resolution to the car accident injury case.
How Common Are Drugged Driving Accident Injuries?
Since drugged driving is not in the public eye as much as drunk driving, you might think your odds of getting into an accident with a drugged driver are slim. However, be aware that marijuana use by drivers is on the rise in California. According to one DRE instructor on the Glendale police force, about half of all the DUI arrests he has made since 2012 have been related to marijuana use.
If you have been injured in a car accident and you suspect the other driver of drug or alcohol impairment, do not hesitate to contact a skilled car accident attorney such as Fernando D. Vargas right away.
