Ron Bellanti - Stop Drunk Driving Now Blog

Monday, September 30, 2013

NTSB Not Giving Up On Proposal to Drop Legal Driving BAC Limits


The head of the National Transportation Safety Board defended the agency’s proposal to lower the legal limit for drunken driving from .08 percent blood-alcohol content to .05 or lower.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Bill To Toughen Drunk Driving Penalties Hits Setback


State lawmakers have backed off a bill that would have made a first time drunk driving offense a criminal offense. Wisconsin is notorious for being the only state in the nation that treats a first offense with just a civil violation - like a speeding ticket with stiff financial fine.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Impaired Driving Case Could Establish Precedent



 A court case charging a casino valet whom should not have handed the keys over to a visibly intoxicated driver could set a precedent. The case centers around Richard Moranko, who left the casino intoxicated on Jan. 15, 2011, with a blood alcohol level of 0.329, more than four times the legal limit, after retrieving his vehicle from its valet service.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Seattle Families Come Together to Raise Awareness

Families gathered for the Mothers Against Drunk Driving 5K at a Seattle park. Whether they had directly been impacted or knew someone who lost a person because of a drunk driver. All the patrons who participated in the walk/run gathered in effort to raise awareness.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

School Bus Driver Charged With DUI


A South Elgin woman has been charged with operating her school bus while under the influence of alcohol. Jill Beebe, 42, was letting students off the bus at a West Chicago school when a school employee thought she smelled alcohol on Beebe’s breath.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Feeling Tipsy? New Apps Read Blood Alcohol Levels, Hail A Taxi


New iPhone and Android apps are giving people the ability to not only get a reading on their blood alcohol levels, but will even call a cab in their area if they are unable to drive.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Miami Beach Cops Arresting People for DUI a Lot Less, but Not Because People Are Drunk Driving Less


In 2009, Miami Beach police arrested jut fewer than 1,300 people for DUI. Last year, only a mere 492 people and this year they are only projected to arrest about 442 people.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

People's Beliefs on Drunk Driving May Change When They're Drunk


Researchers at the University of Missouri analyzed 82 young adults and compared their willingness and attitudes toward drunk driving when sober and after drinking moderate amounts of alcohol. They found that “although people may know that drinking and driving is a bad idea, those sober beliefs may go out the window after a few drinks.”

Monday, September 16, 2013

British Columbia Drunk Driving Deaths Cut Nearly in Half


A couple, who had lost their four year old daughter after a woman ran her over while driving intoxicated, launched a campaign to changes drunk driving laws in their Province. 

Friday, September 13, 2013

Nightclub’s ‘Pee-Analyzer’ Could Stop You from Driving Drunk


A nightclub in Singapore has outfitted their men’s urinals with detectors that test the blood-alcohol level in the patron’s urine. When club-goers enter the club they hand over the keys and are given computerized RFID cards. 



Thursday, September 12, 2013

How drunk is too drunk to drive? It’s a debate


What constitutes drunk driving is up for debate again after the Chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Deborah Hersman made a recommendation to lower the legal limit of intoxication to a blood-alcohol content of 0.05 from 0.08. 

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Bad-News Babysitter


A babysitter out of Rochester Hills was charged with fourth-degree child abuse and drunken driving. Natalie Jeanette Krisfalusi left the child she was watching strapped to a baby swing and she crashed the mother’s car in a near by area in the early-morning hours. 
Natalie Jeanette Krisfalusi / Oakland County Sheriff's Office

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

I Killed A Man…


‘I Killed A Man,’ a frightening first line for Matthew Cordle’s YouTube video. 22-year-old Cordle was a suspect in the investigation for a deadly car crash that killed Vincent Canzani.

Monday, September 9, 2013

New Jersey Town Receives Grant


Hamilton Township, located in New Jersey, received a grant of $4,400 to help catch drunken drivers in the area around the Labor Day holiday weekend. Over the course of Labor Day Weekend 2011, 138 people were killed around the US in car accidents involving drivers with a blood alcohol content level over the legal limit.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Leading by Example



No one sets an example in today’s society like professional athletes. Uber, a smartphone app that is designed to help eliminate drunk driving by offering different types of car services virtually anywhere, has planned to team up with NFL players.