Trick or Treat: Avvo Legal Advisory Encourages DUI Education

Confusion about DUI laws nationwide has generated more than 6,000 questions to-date in 2012 related to DUI underscoring the need for greater awareness and education

Seattle, Wash — In recognition of the Halloween Impaired Driving Prevention campaign[i] running October 25 – November 4, Avvo, Inc., the web’s largest expert-only legal and health Q&A forum and directory (http://www.avvo.com), today released an Avvo Legal Advisory (ALA) to support the need for continued consumer education around laws related to DUI.  While all 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws stating it is a crime to drive with a BAC at or above .08 percent, DUI laws and penalties vary from state-to-state.  .To help consumers better understand DUI laws, Avvo today released a set of legal guides, authored by attorneys with subject matter expertise, including:

 

“Court records indicate that of the 1.4 million people arrested each year in the U.S. for drunk driving, greater than 60% are convicted,” said San Francisco area-based DUI attorney Aaron Bortel. “These legal guides and the Q&A forum on Avvo.com are a great resource for helping people understand their legal rights and the steps that should be taken if they find themselves charged with a DUI offense.”

Trends from the more than 6,000 DUI-related questions asked in 2012 include:

  • More than 34 percent of the DUI questions asked in Avvo’s Q&A forum had to do with arrest procedures and estimated jail time.
  • Consumers from Colorado, California, Washington, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin posted the greatest number of questions on Avvo.com related to DUI, taking into account population density.
  • The three most viewed DUI questions asked on Avvo:
    • How will a DUI record affect my chances of employment?
    • If you have a DUI charge in one state can you get a license in another state?
    • What is the open container law in Florida?

 

The Avvo Legal Advisory (ALA) features data from Avvo’s user base and community of licensed professionals, as well as analysis of questions asked in Avvo’s Q&A forum. More information on DUI can found here: http://www.avvo.com/topics/166-dui.

Last Call iPhone App

To help raise DUI awareness, Avvo developed the Last Call iPhone app: a free, easy way for consumers to estimate their blood-alcohol level and easily call a cab if impaired. Last Call also provides consumers a list of top local DUI lawyers, rated by Avvo, to call for help if they need it.  The app has approximately 350,000 downloads to date and consumers are downloading it about 200 times per week. Last Call for iPhone is available as a free download from iTunes and the App Store.

About Avvo, Inc.

Avvo provides trusted answers to consumer legal and health questions every 10 seconds. In Avvo’s free Q&A forum with more than 125,000 participating lawyers, doctors and dentists, consumers can ask a lawyer or a medical professional questions for free. Avvo’s professional directory provides comprehensive profiles, client and patient reviews, peer endorsements and the industry-recognized Avvo Rating for more than 90 percent of lawyers, doctors and dentists in the U.S.  Avvo launched in 2007 and is privately held with funding from Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures and Ignition Partners. Avvo can also be found at www.facebook.com/avvo and www.linkedin.com/company/avvo/.