New drunk driving laws passed.

[Archae]

First time offenders no longer traffic tickets, it's a misdemeanor.

4th time, felony.

[LiberalFighter]

1. It's time. I wonder how DUI laws compare from state to state.

It would be nice if they were consistent.

I hope first time offenders are given a chance to avoid charges if they follow specific requirements. If they fail then they are convicted.

[undeterred]

2. Wisconsin is reputedly one of the most lenient states...

Our state has:
-The highest rates of alcohol consumption, binge drinking and heavy drinking among all U.S. states and territories in 2006.
-The highest alcohol use in the country (49 percent) among high school students in 2007.
-Three times the national arrest rate for liquor law violations from 1997 to 2006.
-Statewide costs in 2007 for alcohol-related accidents and medical conditions of $935 million.
Increased by 2 percent the number of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities from 2006-2007.

http://www.uwhealth.org/aware/aware-all-wisconsin-alcohol-risk-education/13951

AWARE to Legislature: Good First Step on Drunk Driving

MADISON - The UW Health-led AWARE coalition congratulated the State Assembly and Senate for passing historic drunk-driving legislation Wednesday, but also urged the Legislature to continue the fight.

"Anything we can do to reduce drunk driving in Wisconsin is an important step, but there is so much more that needs to be done,'' said Lisa Maroney, UW Health/AWARE spokesperson. "This bill will help curb repeat offenders through ignition interlock devices, but does little to deal with the main issue of first-time offenders."

Wisconsin Department of Transportation figures show that more than two-thirds of the serious and fatal alcohol crashes are committed by drivers who have never had a prior conviction for operating while intoxicated (OWI), she added. Rep. Tony Staskunas (D-West Allis) and Sen. Jim Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa), bill authors, have begun to successfully reverse some of the drunk driving laws that make Wisconsin an outlier from the rest of the nation.

For example, Wisconsin was one of only two states that did not issue a felony charge until a person's fifth OWI. This bill makes an OWI a felony after the fourth offense within five years. AWARE supports instituting a felony charge upon a person's third OWI offense.

The UW Health AWARE coalition was created a year ago and has more than 55 statewide members. It supports improving the health and safety of Wisconsin residents in the fight against alcohol abuse. Senate Bill 66, passed on Wednesday, would:

-Make a fourth offense a felony if it occurs within five years of a previous offense. Now, drunken driving isn't a felony until the fifth offense.
-Require ignition interlocks for all repeat drunken drivers and for first-time offenders with blood-alcohol levels of 0.15 percent or greater.
-Make first-offense drunken driving a misdemeanor if a child younger than 16 is in the vehicle.
-Expand statewide a Winnebago County program that gives judges the option of offering reduced jail time to offenders who complete alcohol or drug treatment.
-Eliminate a provision that provides lighter penalties for those with a blood-alcohol level between 0.08 and 0.10 percent, compared with those above 0.10.
-Significantly increase fines for OWI to fund the legislation.

The last step is action by the Governor and it is expected he will sign the bill.

Date Published: 12/16/2009
http://www.uwhealth.org/news/aware-to-legislature-good-first-step-on-drunk-driving/25976

[midnight]

3. First of all this legislation is woefully lacking in the testing and science that

is necessary to secure the rights of those accused..... If you know the "tools" used to make these easements, you might be asking yourself why the assessments in these cases are not more science based..... Do you know what the error rate is at the state lab that the police use to test their blood draws? Remember just because you are accused does not mean you are guilty? How many know the no of l police labs through out this country closed due to high error rates....

[dembotoz]

4. we do seem eager to dump our rights don't we.