Editorial: Boosting public safety
Monday, July 31st, 2006
By Chris Fitzsimon
When legislators act with near or complete unanimity, you can usually draw one of two conclusions: Either the measure in question has so much popular support, it would be politically disastrous for them not to fall in line; or the measure makes changes so obviously necessary and beneficial to the public, it would be unconscionable to oppose it.
The latter offers the better explanation for why lawmakers resoundingly approved legislation during the just-concluded session of the General Assembly that would shore up laws in two areas of public safety — the prosecution of drunken drivers and the tracking of convicted sex offenders. In both cases, lawmakers addressed weaknesses or inconsistencies in existing law that have put children and motorists at greater risk.
The DWI measure will require judges to more uniformly enforce the .08 blood alcohol content as evidence of driving while impaired. Legislators were compelled to act after a series of articles published in the Charlotte Observer in 2004 showed that up to a third of DWI suspects who registered a .08 blood alcohol content were being acquitted. That uneven enforcement meant that drunken drivers in some jurisdictions were far too likely to crawl behind the wheel again, putting themselves and other motorists at risk of injury or death from accidents.
A DWI Task Force recommended that the .08 reading be regarded as proof of impairment, and the legislature followed suit. In addition to affirming the .08 standard, legislators also strengthened some other anti-DWI measures. They increased penalties for impaired drivers implicated in accidents involving injury or death. In addition, they gave teens another reason to shun underage drinking. Currently, it’s illegal for minors to buy or possess alcohol; under the new rules, it also will be illegal for them to drink the stuff, meaning they could face prosecution if they show evidence of alcohol use, even if they don’t have a can or bottle within reach. (more…)
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