Published: Dec 9, 2004
Modified: Dec 10, 2004 8:20 AM
Tougher penalties proposed for DWI
By BRUCE SICELOFF, Staff Writer
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A task force charged with getting drunken drivers off North Carolina roads
is preparing remedies intended to reduce underage drinking, increase arrests,
hasten convictions and make it more difficult for violators to keep driving.
People accused of DWI would lose their driver's licenses until their cases
were resolved, giving them a reason to settle the charges quickly.
And for thousands of defendants with serious charges or prior DWI convictions,
the arresting officer would immediately install a device that prevents
the car from starting if there is alcohol on the driver's breath.
More than 40 proposals for better prevention, education and enforcement
were approved in draft form Wednesday by a task force of 31 experts in
law enforcement, health, safety and other fields.
The group will report its findings to Gov. Mike Easley by Jan. 15. Easley
launched the task force last spring after The Charlotte Observer reported
widespread weaknesses in the state's efforts against drunken drivers.
North Carolina judges acquit more than one-third of DWI defendants who
go to trial after testing at or above the legal standard of 0.08 blood
alcohol content, the Observer reported. One task force recommendation
would make clear that a 0.08 reading is sufficient for conviction.
Many of the group's ideas are expected to find support in the 2005 General
Assembly, but several could face resistance.
Insurance Commissioner Jim Long walked out of the group's meeting Wednesday
after a dispute over a proposal, favored by Long and other task force
members, to increase the state excise tax on beer and wine. A compromise
measure won unanimous approval later in the afternoon.
And state Sen. Tony Rand, a Cumberland County Democrat, was skeptical
of a plan to have the Division of Motor Vehicles handle requests for limited
driving privileges from most of the 80,000 DWI defendants arrested each
year. District Court judges now handle these requests while the DWI cases
are pending.
Rand said he was concerned that DMV employees already have too many responsibilities.
But the proposal was approved after other task force members said the
chore adds unnecessarily to the crowded court docket.
Under last-minute pressure from Easley's office, task force members were
blocked from voting on a proposal to increase the excise tax on beer and
wine. Citing evidence from public health experts, they said making alcohol
pricier would reduce sales to teenagers.
"We believe it is a valid deterrent to underage drinking," said
Melanie Chernoff of Raleigh, deputy director for El Pueblo Inc. Other
supporters of the idea included Long and Greensboro Police Chief David
Wray.
But Kevin S. Hutchinson, an Easley policy adviser, told task force members
that recommending any sort of tax increase was beyond the scope of their
mission.
"The governor would be happy to see any type of preventive measures,
but not one that involves a tax increase," Hutchinson said. District
Attorney Jim Hardin of Durham, who was leading the meeting, ruled that
the group would not vote on the proposal.
Chernoff and others protested that the task force had been considering
the beer tax for weeks.
"Maybe next time you can tell us this up front," Long said,
pushing his chair back from the table, "so we don't spend months
putting this stuff together."
Long gathered his papers and left the room.
Two hours later, Easley signaled his willingness to compromise. He notified
Hardin that he would accept a proposal to study the question of whether
higher excise taxes deter underage drinking.
"So moved," Chernoff said, and the action passed unanimously.
Hardin said he was pleased with the range of recommendations.
"We took a diverse approach to develop a set of recommendations that,
if implemented, will have a significant impact on making our roads safer
as it relates to DWI violators," Hardin said.
The panel put together a variety of measures aimed at reducing underage
drinking. Alcohol Law Enforcement officers would more than double their
checks of stores and bars, to discourage sales to minors and intoxicated
persons.
Beer keg sales to private individuals would require special-use permits
from the local Alcoholic Beverage Control board. That measure would identify
an adult who could be held liable for consumption by underage drinkers.
"Kegs are an especially popular source of alcohol for these underage
folks," said Barbara Alvarez Martin, who studies teen drinking at
the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
District Court Judge Joe Blick of Pitt County said he hoped the measure
would stem the keg parties that are popular with high school and college
students in Greenville.
"Every weekend we have hundreds of people partying in the street,"
Blick said, "and it's starting to be a big, big problem."
DWI PROPOSALS
The Governor's Task Force on Driving While Impaired gave preliminary approval
Wednesday to proposals for better DWI enforcement and prevention. Gov.
Mike Easley will receive the final plan in January, and many of the measures
will be considered by the 2005 General Assembly. Among the proposals:
Reduce alcohol sales to people who are underage or intoxicated:
* Require a permit from a local ABC board to purchase a beer keg, identifying
the adult permit-holder who would be responsible for underage drinking.
* Increase routine compliance checks at stores and bars, with stepped-up
focus on repeat violators.
* Improve training for the state's 350,000 clerks and bartenders who sell
or serve alcohol, and expand the state driver's license ID verification
program to reduce illegal sales.
* Give law enforcement officers greater access to private clubs that sell
alcohol.
Arrest more impaired drivers:
* Increase sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols.
Increase pretrial driving restrictions for people charged with DWI:
* Revoke the license until case is resolved in court, instead of the current
maximum 30 days.
* Install an ignition interlock device immediately after arrest for DWI
defendants who are younger than 21 or repeat offenders who refuse to take
a blood-alcohol test or who register over 0.16. The device prevents a
car from starting if it detects alcohol on the driver's breath.
Close loopholes, provide more consistent court handling of DWI cases,
and rewrite laws for some offenses:
* Clarify the law allowing judges to convict any driver with an Intoxilyzer
reading of .08 or greater.
* Automatically revoke for one year the license of any drunken driver
who causes a crash.
* Create separate offenses for drunken drivers who injure someone and
those who kill someone, and increase the punishment. Currently, a driver
who kills someone while impaired can be charged with death by motor vehicle,
which carries a likely sentence of 10 to 13 months.
* Create a new crime for driving after a license has been revoked for
impaired driving.
* Require community service, assessment and treatment or education for
any young person charged with underage drinking and driving. Eliminate
the "prayer for judgment continued" option.
* Create an online data system that unites databases on how impaired drivers
are charged, judged, punished and treated.
* Start an electronic citation system to decrease the time spent by arresting
officers and court officials processing records for each DWI case.
* Add resources to let the State Bureau of Investigation labs process
alcohol and drug tests more quickly.
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Staff writer Bruce Siceloff can be reached at 829-4527 or bruce.siceloff@newsobserver.com.
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