Famed golfer Tiger Woods was arrested on Memorial Day near his home on Jupiter Island, FL, for driving under the influence. It is alleged that police found him asleep at the steering wheel of a running vehicle and arrested him because his speech was slurred and he couldn’t complete some police-instructed roadside tasks.
Sound like a drunk driving incident? It wasn’t. His alcohol breath test was zero.
“I take full responsibility for my actions. I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications,” said Woods on Monday. He had back surgery last month.
Drugged driving crashes are a problem as they have nearly doubled the last decade. Forty-three percent of drivers killed in traffic accidents nationwide tested positive for drugs in 2015, according to a recent report from the Governors Highway Safety Association and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility.
“As drunk driving has declined, drugged driving has increased dramatically and many of today’s impaired drivers are combining two or more substances, which has a multiplicative effect on driver impairment,” said Ralph. S. Blackman, president and CEO of Responsibility.org.
Marijuana was the most common drug found in fatally-injured drivers. More than one third — 36.5 percent — tested positive for marijuana and 9.3 percent tested positive for amphetamines. Medical marijuana is legal in New York State. There is no valid roadside device police can use to test for marijuana and other drugs the way they use breathalyzers to test for alcohol.
In New York, a person is guilty of a DUI if he or she operates a motor vehicle while his or her ability to operate such a motor vehicle is impaired by the use of a drug, or he or she is impaired by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and any drug or drugs.
If you, or someone you care about, has been injured or has been involved in a drunk driving accident, contact Rosenberg & Gluck, personal injury attorneys, for a free and confidential legal consultation to learn more about your options.
