Читать книгу Criminology For Dummies - Steven Briggs - Страница 93

Car crashes are the most common means of violent death or serious physical injury in the United States. One person dies every 50 minutes. Groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) have helped elevate society’s awareness of the damage that can be done by a speeding, three-ton pile of metal. As a consequence, many states have created offenses, such as vehicular assault, that criminalize dangerous driving that results in injury. However, just crashing a car and injuring someone isn’t enough to constitute a crime. In most states, the driver must have driven recklessly to warrant a charge.

Although reckless driving can involve a number of behaviors, such as speeding or running a red light, intoxication is by far the primary factor prosecutors use in proving vehicular assault, in part because intoxication with alcohol or drugs is involved in so many crashes. If a driver wasn’t intoxicated during a crash, to win a conviction of vehicular assault, a prosecutor has to prove very bad driving judgment (such as drag racing on a busy street).

Sentences for vehicular assault often depend on the severity of the victim’s injury. A sentence can range from probation with no jail to eight or more years in prison.