The Badger Herald: News: State to look at harsher OWI laws

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State to look at harsher OWI laws

Bipartisan proposal would toughen state punishment for drunken drivers if passed

BOB BREITENBACH/Herald photo

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Also by Jim O'Connell:

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Wiscontrepreneurs prepare for sleepless nights (February 17, 2009)
State to look at harsher OWI laws (February 5, 2009)
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UW graduate student to fulfill dream, sing in New York (January 22, 2009)

By Jim O'Connell
Thursday, February 5, 2009 1:52 a.m.

3 Vote 0 Votes

State officials joined Mothers Against Drunk Driving Wednesday to announce a new bill they hope will help keep Wisconsin citizens from having one more drink for the road.

Rep. Tony Staskunas, D-West Allis, and Rep. Dean Kaufert , R-Neenah, proposed a bill that would strengthen Wisconsin’s policy against drunken driving through the increased use of Ignition Interlock Devices.

The new policy calls for all first time offenders caught operating while intoxicated with a blood alcohol level higher than .15 to have a device installed in their vehicle when they reapply for their license.

Under the current law in Wisconsin, the placement of an ignition interlock in an OWI offender’s vehicle can be ordered by a judge and is only mandatory after the third offense.

The proposed device requires the driver to blow into a breathalyzer tube attached to the vehicle’s ignition system, according to Staskunas. In order for the vehicle to start, the driver must record a BAC below .08.

During their drive, they must continue to provide the device with BAC readings to prevent an offender from drinking while driving.

“The device, at random intervals between 30 to 60 minutes, requires a rolling retest,” Staskunas said. “If you blow and exceed the alcohol limit, the car doesn’t shut down, but the lights start flashing and the horn starts going off.”

Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney said because the majority of alcohol-related accidents occur when perpetrators have BACs two or three times the legal limit, it made sense to require ignition interlock installation for offenders with .15 levels or higher.

MADD National President Laura Dean-Mooney said Wisconsinites should be frightened that, on average, first time OWI recipients drove under the influence 87 times before they were finally convicted.

“If you think that repeat drunk drivers are the only problem, you are dead wrong,” Mooney said. “According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 75 percent of drunken driving traffic fatalities in Wisconsin were caused by a first time offender.”

Mooney and MADD strongly back the bill along with the Tavern League of Wisconsin, and All Wisconsin Alcohol Risk Education. The proposal has received bipartisan support throughout the Legislature as well, according to Kaufert.

“I know that there are more negotiations coming, but it’s good to see Republicans and Democrats and the Tavern League coming together, all recognizing the impact that drunk driving has on people,” Kaufert said.

According to Mooney, 18 to 24-year-olds are most affected by drunken driving. By requiring ignition interlocks to be added to the vehicles of OWI offenders, she hopes a process of behavior modification will discourage these young adults from driving drunk.

She added the embarrassment of possibly having to blow into a breathalyzer while taking a date out for dinner is a good way to discourage young adults from driving under the influence.

3 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | February 5, 2009 9:10 PM | Reply
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Epic photo. Love the new size.

Anonymous | February 6, 2009 6:25 AM | Reply
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Rep. Tony Staskunas, D-West Allis, and Rep. Dean Kaufert , R-Neenah, are both pandering for votes using this group of neo-prohibitionist, lobbyists bad agendas as a platform.

MADD logic for having first time offenders having an IID installed is based on a 13 year old study that a first time offender is somehow an 86 time offender that just got caught his first time.

So we are pushing IID’s to pile on already tough penalties because MADD pulls another statistic out there magical bag of lies. Not long ago they were claiming the repeat offender was the problem on the roads. Tougher laws were passed for repeat offenders. Now MADD’s “next best thing” / “life saving legislation” is to punish a first time offender as a repeat offender even though our courts can not prove the person is a repeat offender. They pulled yet another MADD created lie, now 75% of traffic fatalities are first time offenders. Yeah Laura Dean Mooney, of the 337 deaths in WI last year, over 95% were SINGLE VEHICLE ACCIDENTS. There are NO INNOCENT VICTIMS of a DD in and SVA Laura.

MADD is only here pandering for money. They are apparently 375k in the red yet Ms Mooney has been able to fly here to try and slurp from their favorite source of funding, our tax dollars. She needs to be able to continue to receive that 250k / year salary paid for by you and I

Anonymous | February 22, 2009 2:41 PM | Reply
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It is not just the OWI - drinking and driving that needs to be addressed, but those who give others their prescription medications need to be criminally charged when a death occurs (particularly if the individual supplying the prescription medication knows of an individual’s medical conditions and disregards their safety - this is intentional and/or unintentional homicide).