Tougher DUI Bill
PHOENIX, AZ - The state legislature is looking at another measure to stiffen penalties for DUI offenders. A new proposal by State Senator Jim Waring would call for a new blood-alcohol content classification for the most extreme DUI cases. His bill would force first-time extreme offenders to serve a full 30 or 45 days in jail with no reduced time for attending treatment programs. Waring emphasized he is not going after most DUI offenders, who serve their time and do not repeat their offense, just the most extreme ones.
Statistics in Arizona show, drivers with blood-alcohol levels, or BACs, nearly double the legal limit. At least 0.15%, accounted for nearly two-thirds of all alcohol-related vehicle deaths in 2005. Previous legislative action knocked the BAC limit to 0.08% from 0.10% and defined extreme DUI as 0.15% from 0.18%. Waring would like to create a new DUI classification of 0.20%. The senators on his Public Safety Committee unanimously approved Waring's bills yesterday. Also, the Senate Transportation Committee unanimously endorsed the bill earlier this month. It would still need approval from the full Senate, House of Representatives and Governor Janet Napolitano.
This is good news in my opinion. If the government wants DUI's to stop they need to make the penalties for doing so so harsh that noone will want to risk it. Personally I think a DUI should be considered attempted murder.
A friend of mine got a DUI on New Years and blew a .22 and this is his second offense. When the cop asked him how he got to where he was (his car was stuck in a snow drift) he told the cop he didn't know. According to his attorney he's only going to do 15 days in jail for this and I think that is way to light of a sentence. What if he had driven his car into a minivan full of kids or something?
If you knew that getting a DUI meant facing charges for attempted murder would you chance it?