Ridesharing Service Looks to Decrease Drunk Driving
A large ridesharing service is focusing on the San Antonio military community in its push to recruit 10,000 drivers by the end of 2016; the company’s general manager predicts that more ridesharing will mean fewer drunk driving crashes.
The ridesharing service Uber temporarily ceased operations in the Alamo City but returned last October with 2,000 drivers, after reaching a marketing agreement with the city. Now, the service hopes to equal the number of drivers that are in nearby Austin. The company’s general manager said that military personnel and their families made excellent ridesharing drivers, because of the consistently high ratings they earn from passengers and the ability to “find work in the somewhat transient lifestyle that they have.” He predicted that the service would be successful, because of the difficulty in traveling through the area and the high number of drunk driving incidents.
There are currently three ridesharing services operating in San Antonio, in addition to a number of “standard” taxi cab companies.
First Party Liability in an Alcohol Crash
In most cases, impairment begins after one drink, even though this amount of alcohol is nowhere near enough to support a DUI conviction or even provide probable cause for an arrest. So, it is often necessary to prove impairment by circumstantial evidence. This type of evidence often includes:
Driving Issues: Failure to maintain a single lane, wide turns, erratic braking, and continual highbeam operation are all evidence that the driver does not have proper control of the vehicle due to the influence of alcohol.
Personal Issues: An odor of alcohol, unsteady balance, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes provide similar evidence of impairment.
Historical Issues: If the driver had just left a saloon or party, it is reasonable to assume that the driver had been drinking. This evidence may also give rise to third party liability, under either the dram shop law or a negligent undertaking theory.
In civil court, such as a personal injury action, impairment need only be established by a preponderance of the evidence, which means more likely than not.
Compensation in a car crash case typically includes damages for both economic losses, such as medical bills, and non-economic losses, included the pain and suffering that accompanies a serious injury. Punitive damages are also available in some cases.
For prompt assistance in this area, contact an experienced personal injury attorney in New Braunfels. The sooner you call, the easier it is to obtain maximum compensation.
Sources:
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2016/01/06/uber-aims-to-reach-10-000-drivers-in-san-antonio.html
http://fcs.tamu.edu/files/2015/06/impaired-driving.pdf
