Pittsburgh tightens up DUI patrols to fight car accidents

As Pittsburgh begins to put its Sociable City Plan into action, Mayor Ravenstahl announced that citizens can expect police to have a keener eye out for drunk drivers. With public safety as one of the main goals of the new plan, city officials are hoping to reduce “risk and harm” to citizens and visitors alike.

Like many cities, Pittsburgh bars tend to crop up in close proximity, leading to areas in the city with a higher risk of car accidents caused by drunk drivers. Though a driver who is arrested on drunk driving charges may not be ordered to pay anything to a victim who was injured personally or financially, increased police patrols increase the likelihood that the perpetrator is caught instead of being allowed to drive off.

A civil suit seeks to accomplish what a criminal case does not: monetary compensation for an injured victim. If a police report determines that a driver was partially or fully at fault for an accident, then a successful civil suit can recover damages ranging from actual damage to a vehicle to compensation for the traumatic experience.

Pittsburgh car accident lawyers say that negligence is the most commonly used legal theory in car accident cases. If someone has a duty to care for other people and then someone else gets hurt because that person breached that duty of care, then the person that failed to exercise reasonable care in those circumstances may have been negligent.

Everyone assumes a responsibility to drive with caution and protect others on the road, and driving under the influence is a prime example of failing to use reasonable caution while driving. Someone who chooses to drink and drive is choosing not to care about the consequences, and a victim who gets injured in the process deserves compensation.

Source: WTAE Pittsburgh, “Increased inspections, DUI patrols highlight South Side safety plan,” Shaun Ganley, Jan. 15, 2013