3 DUI Deaths Over the Labor Day Weekend

According to the Oregon State Police troopers on Tuesday, three people died during the 2011 Labor Day weekend. Historically, at least since 1970 when they began keeping track, the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) has found that an average of 7 people die in drunk driving related accident son this weekend every year.

Labor Day weekend in the second deadliest holiday weekend of the year, with the 4^th of July weekend coming in first. Because of the holiday, more people drive while impaired by alcohol and this causes reckless driving, serious accidents, and sometimes fatal crashes.

We would first like to applaud the Oregon State Troopers for their dedication to preventing drunk driving accident this year – which likely contributed to the low number of deaths from DUII. Second, we would like to offer our condolences to everyone who lost a loved one this past weekend. One of the alcohol-related crashes involved a motorcycle, and one involved a truck.

There were also several arrests made, as alcohol consumption rises on the holiday weekends and the law enforcement agencies work to keep us safe on the roads.

According to the OSP’s “Preliminary Post-Labor Day Holiday Weekend Statistics” there were 70 DUII arrests, with the highest numbers in the cities listed below:

Central Point Area Command – 9
Portland Area Command – 8
Springfield Area Command – 7
Salem Area Command – 5
Bend Area Command – 5
Klamath Falls Area Command – 5
Albany Area Command – 4
The Dalles Area Command – 3
Coos Bay Area Command – 3
St. Helens Work Site – 3

If you were injured in a drunk driving accident this past weekend, you should start trying to learn about your legal options. Hiring a Portland car accident attorney might be helpful, but at the very least you should consider learning more about Dram Shop notices, statutes of limitations, and working with car insurance adjusters to get all your damages compensated.