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Drunk driving legislation would revoke licenses of repeat offenders

Legislation seeks to gets ‘tougher’ on repeat offenders
Drunk+driving+legislation+would+revoke+licenses+of+repeat+offenders
Courtesy of Flickr user James Palinsad

Republican legislators introduced a new drunk driving bill in early September that would revoke licenses of repeat drunk drivers for a minimum of 10 years.

The bill would require the Department of Transportation to rescind the license of anyone with four or more offenses, those who commit two or more drunk driving offenses and those who have two or more convictions for serious crimes involving a vehicle.

Currently, the state can revoke licenses for a maximum of three years. This will be the second time the bill will face consideration — it was introduced last session and passed the state Assembly, but did not receive a Senate floor vote.

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According to the State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation, alcohol-related crashes killed 190 people and injured almost 2,900 in Wisconsin in 2015. In 2015, there were almost 24,000 drunk driving convictions, of which one third were repeat offenders.

https://badgerherald.com/news/2016/03/17/phone-app-keeps-drunk-driving-in-check/

Local groups such as the Tavern League of Wisconsin and Mothers Against Drunk Driving support this new bill. Pete Madland, executive director of Tavern League of Wisconsin, said the introduced legislation can really crack down on repeat offenders.

“The Tavern League has never opposed any legislation that has gotten tougher on repeat offenders or high frequency offenders,” Madland said.

The Tavern League also has a program called “SafeRide” to help keep drunk drivers off the road, Madland said. SafeRide gave more than 92,000 rides last year to Tavern customers.

MADD volunteer spokesperson John Vose said MADD supports this legislation, but would like to see tougher laws against drunk driving and a more effective ignition interlock device program. Ignition interlock devices require users to breathalyze before being able to operate their vehicle.

Vose added that ignition interlock devices help change the behavior of drunk driving offenders long term because it forces them to drive sober.

https://badgerherald.com/news/2016/05/01/law-cracks-down-on-repeat-drunk-drivers/

Ignition interlock legislation has also been proposed, and was up for public hearing. Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and Rep. Jim Ott, R-Mequon, have been working together to introduce three bills.

The new legislation would raise the minimum incarceration period to 18 months for fifth and sixth offenders and create a five-year minimum prison sentence for homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.

“The bills are part of an ongoing effort to make penalties for impaired driving more in line with the seriousness of the offense,” Ott said.

In the same vein, Darling said in a statement the bills will get dangerous drivers off the road.

It would also require all repeat offenders and first time offenders with a blood-alcohol percentage of 0.15 or higher to drive with an ignition interlock device.

“It’s our hope people get the help they need before they get their fifth or sixth OWI, but there comes a time when we have to get these dangerous drivers off the road,” Darling said.

https://badgerherald.com/news/2016/03/14/costs-and-solutions-drunk-drivings-impact-on-wisconsin/

Everyone has a responsibility to prevent drunk driving, Vose said.

Vose added that the MADD website has a lot of resources for students who want to take a larger role in spreading the message.

“When you drink and drive, the chances of an adverse, life changing event are incredibly high,” Vose said. “Make sure you take the keys away from your friends or call an Uber.”

A public hearing for the bill was held Sep. 5 but it will be up to Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

The current legislative floor period ends Sep. 21 and will reconvene Oct. 10.

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