Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The National Transportation Safety Board recommends reducing the limit. Some say it would save lives. Others say it's unreasonable.
One drink could be the standard for drunken driving – at least for some people if the National Transporation Safety Board has its way. On Tuesday, the NTSB recommended states lower the blood-alcohol threshold for driving under the influence from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. What do you think? Is the proposal reasonable? About 10,000 deaths a year are related to drunken driving. The NTSB says the lower limit would save 500 to 800 lives a year. Officials at the American Beverage Institute called the proposal "ludicrous." It said the average woman could reach the 0.05 percent limit by having one drink. Internationally, only a handful of countries, including Canada, the United States and England, have a BAC limit of .08 while most of the …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Zionsville man was found with an ounce of marijuana, Macungie officers report. Blood test results confirm he was under the influence.
An Upper Milford Township man recently was charged with driving under the influence and possession of marijuana, according to Macungie police. Kevin Michael Beers, 20, of 5084 W. Wendi Drive, Zionsville, was stopped at 1:40 a.m. Feb. 16 in the 900 block of Willow Lane for an unspecified traffic violation, police said. The officer smelled a strong odor of suspected marijuana, police said, and appeared to be impaired. About an ounce of marijuana was confiscated. Beers was taken to the Lehigh County D.U.I. Center, where blood was drawn for testing. Police said the results showed that marijuana was present in his system. Charges were filed with Magisterial District Judge Donna Butler of Emmaus, police said.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
This decision by the Pennsylvania State Police could increase arrests of those driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) have temporarily suspended the use of breathalyzers in DUI stops, meaning that DUI arrests may increase in areas patrolled by the PSP by detecting drugs in addition to alcohol, according to CBS3. A Dauphin County Court ruling prompted the decision, where a judge threw out a DUI charge after the reliability of the breathalyzer test using the Intoxilyzer 5000, which is used throughout Pennsylvania, was questioned. “Anytime we arrest someone for DUI now instead of taking them to get a breath sample, we’re now taking a blood sample and taking that off to the lab to be analyzed,” PSP Spokesman Adam Reed told CBS 3. According to George Geisler of the PA DUI Association, this action will mean safer roads, …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Former Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Brennan pleads guilty to DUI and simple assault but gets probation for simple assault.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, January 3
A Lehigh County judge sentenced former State Representative Joe Brennan to a mandatory 90 days in prison Thursday after he pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of alchohol. Judge Maria Dantos also sentenced Brennan to 18 months' probation for simple assault stemming from the same incident when he struck his wife on Aug. 15 at their Fountain Hill home before driving away drunk. His blood-alcohol content measured 0.22 percent. The state's legal limit is 0.08 percent. Brennan, who must also pay a $1,500 fine, will begin serving his sentence Monday in Lehigh County Prison. Assistant District Attorney Stephen VanNatten said Brennan's wife, who did not attend the sentencing, did not want her husband to serve time in prison…
Contact with driver who had lost a tire brings charge of drunken driving, troopers report.
The New Year's holiday no doubt had police out in force looking to pull drunken drivers off the roadways to avoid hurting others and themselves. Television commercials told us as much. Police are taught the signs to watch: drivers weaving in and out of their lanes, perhaps driving too slow to be extra-careful or having slow and unsteady braking because they are impaired. But a state trooper from the Fogelsville barracks added another suspicious act to the list of those worth checking when he made a traffic stop at 5:31 a.m. Jan. 1 in Upper Milford Township. Trooper Matthew Lowe came across a 19-year-old man who was missing one of his driver's side tires, according to his police report. Michael Mark Conrad of Emmaus was stopped at Vera Cruz…
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Accident from "doughnuts" in the street wasn't sweet for victim or motorcyclist accused of driving under the influence.
- POLICE & FIRE
- Tad Miller
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Wednesday, September 12, 2012
A clouded mind may have led to a cloud of smoke that caused a recent accident in Upper Milford Township, according to police. Events began with an unidentified motorcyclist spinning his tires and turning circles in the roadway of Buckeye Road at 8:50 p.m. Aug. 24, according to state police at Fogelsville. The spinning tires produced thick smoke, limiting vision. The unidentified driver following the motorcycle slowed the car when entering the cloud, but could not see the motorcyclist ahead, police said. The car struck the motorcycle, pushing the biker to the ground. No injuries were noted in the report. The motorcyclist retrieved his bike and drove off, but eventually came back to responding police, troopers said. An investigation …
Sunday, September 2, 2012
PennDOT and state police will target impaired drivers to curb the worsening problem of drunken or drugged driving.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Sunday, September 2, 2012
State and local police, along with PennDOT, will take part in a national enforcement effort through Labor Day on Sept. 3, targeting motorists driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” effort will target impaired drivers and highlight the worsening problem of drugged driving. “As we remind motorists to drive sober for the Labor Day holiday, we also want to raise awareness of the growing safety threat that drugged drivers present,” PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch said. “While overall DUI crashes are trending downward, we’re seeing a troubling increase in drug-related crashes each year.” PennDOT statistics for 2011 show there were 3,073 drug-related crashes statewide, with 116 fatalities in …
Friday, August 10, 2012
Car lost control, hit utility pole before landing on its roof, police say.
An Allentown-area man avoided serious injury early Aug. 9 despite his car striking a utility pole and overturning in Lower Macungie Township just outside of Emmaus, according to police. Ron O'Neill, 20, was treated for minor injuries at an area hospital, according to state police at Fogelsville. O'Neill at 2:33 a.m. was heading north on Macungie Avenue and turning onto Orchid Place when his Hyundai Elantra lost control on a curve, police said. The car hit a PPL utility pole and overturned, coming to rest on its roof. O'Neill was transported to a hospital by Emmaus Ambulance for treatment of minor injuries, police said. They also said blood was drawn because they suspected O'Neill of driving under the influence of alcohol. Charges filed …
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The following information was supplied by troopers at the barracks in Fogelsville. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.
An Emmaus-area woman fled the scene of an accident recently in which her vehicle struck a utility pole, according to police. Janel Norton, 20, eventually was located and was transported by Emmaus EMS for medical evaluation, according to state police at Fogelsville. She displayed signs of intoxication, prompting blood tests. Police said charges of driving under the influence will be filed when results are received. Norton was driving south in the area of 5902 Vera Cruz Road at 10:50 p.m. June 16 when her car went off the western edge of the roadway, police said. Her car received disabling damage after striking the utility pole. In another Upper Milford incident, an unidentified victim reported a bicycle stolen from 4629-3 Indian Creek Road…
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5902 Vera Cruz Rd, Emmaus, PA
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40.52427
-75.526426
4692 Indian Creek Rd, Emmaus, PA
in the vicinity of
/articles/police-hit-run-driver-struck-upper-milford-utility-pole
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Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Initiative also results in other citations and warnings, police say.
State police spearheaded another checkpoint this weekend to look for motor vehicle violations in general and motorists driving under the influence specifically and came away with two DUI arrests, according to a news release. Initiated by Pennsylvania State Police, the most recent effort was announced last week and was held between 11 p.m. June 2 and 3:30 a.m. June 3 at southbound Route 222 at Krocks Road in Lower Macungie Township, police said. The checkpoint produced two arrests for suspected driving under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol, three citations for child safety seat violations, four other traffic citations and 26 warning notices for items such as burned out headlights or taillights, police said. State police generally…
Just Sharing
10:13 am on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
You can get a DUI for taking over the counter medication, or prescription drugs from your doctor. You can get a DUI on a bike, walking, or riding lawn mower. If your BAC is .08 you get a DUI, if it is .075 you get a DUI, the cops will hold you and or take you for blood so that your BAC will be higher as your body absorbs more alcohol. And I will admit I got a DUI, I am a hard working responsible … more ›