There were two magazine articles in the past week, each espousing opposite views with respect to the underlying philosophy concerning DUI enforcement. Reason Magazine had an article titled “Abolish Drunk Driving Laws”, in which the author argues that the purpose of the DUI laws, to prevent people who are impaired from driving, has been usurped by finding people who are over the “magic number” of .08, which is a fairly arbitrary number. The argument is that basing the laws solely around this number, which is generated by a machine whose inner workings are kept secret, is missing the point – which is to find an punish people who are reckless drivers, including those whose driving is impaired due to being on the phone, being distracted by passengers or otherwise not being fit to drive.
This paragraph from the article is a favorite of mine:
“Consider the 2000 federal law that pressured states to lower their BAC standards to 0.08 from 0.10. At the time, the average BAC in alcohol-related fatal accidents was 0.17, and two-thirds of such accidents involved drivers with BACs of 0.14 or higher. In fact, drivers with BACs between 0.01 and 0.03 were involved in more fatal accidents than drivers with BACs between 0.08 and 0.10. (The federal government classifies a fatal accident as “alcohol-related” if it involved a driver, a biker, or a pedestrian with a BAC of 0.01 or more, whether or not drinking actually contributed to the accident.) In 1995 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studied traffic data in 30 safety categories from the first five states to adopt the new DWI standard. In 21 of the 30 categories, those states were either no different from or less safe than the rest of the country.”
<span >Lowering the legal limit for DUI in Kansas and all of the other states has not made much of a difference in the safety of the road. Neither has the constant tinkering with the Kansas DUI laws to make them harsher and harsher and more difficult for the courts and Kansas DUI lawyers to understand and navigate. Establishing a “legal limit” has not eased the true problem, it has only made it easier to get convictions of people, including those who were not impaired. I can’t really improve on what the the <span >Simple Justice Blog <span >said:
The magic numbers are arbitrary, having nothing per se to do with impairment. The law needed a number, and so a number it received. And then a new number. And now Acevedo wants another new number. But it’s not because the magic numbers, whether .10% or .05%, is of critical importance when it comes to safety on the highway, but because it provides conclusive proof, when combined with the magic black box, that sends a person to jail.Thoughtful people, including judges and even the occasional legislator, have long known that this was more magic than science. But it worked extremely well. It plugged holes in proof and make the drunk driver an easy snatch for any cop so inclined. And so what if some others, not so impaired, where snagged in the big net? That’s the price we pay for ease of enforcement.
Another article, this one in Time Magazine, argues that the legal limit of .08 is too liberal and ought to be changed to .05 or less to be more in line with most European countries. This is what MADD, NHTSA and law enforcement are currently pushing for. Eventually, the legal limit is likely to be lowered, with the federal government employing its usual “change your laws or else” bully tactics upon the individual states. The next step will be a total prohibition on consuming any alcohol and driving.
So, there are wildly differing viewpoints on how to deal with the problem of drunken driving. Of course, the problem is truly just that – drunken driving. Not “impaired driving” or driving at over a .05 breath alcohol content. Drunken driving is what is dangerous and what can get people killed or injured. That is where the law should be focused, and not on dragging more people under the DUI umbrella.
The DUI laws in Kansas are that a DUI stays on your record for LIFETIME. A DUI diversion or conviction in Kansas can never be expunged, or wiped off of your record. A first-time offender who has never been in trouble can have his or her driver’s license suspended for one year, followed by one year of being restricted to only driving a vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device (which costs about $75 to install, $75 per month, and $75 to de-install). There is no hardship license, no “to and from work”, nor any other provision to allow a person to live and work in our car-centered culture. This is Kansas, not Europe. There is no bus service, subway, trains or even taxi service in the overwhelming majority of the state, including for all practical purposes Johnson County, Kansas. These laws are important and this is not a game.
The debate will rage on, and politicians will continue to use Kansas DUI laws to try to prove that they are “tough on crime”. There is currently a “Kansas DUI Commission” which was established to radically overhaul the Kansas DUI laws. Which side of the debate do you think they are on? My bet is that they are on the side of stricter, harsher (and more arbitrary) Kansas DUI laws, especially since there is only one Kansas DUI lawyer allowed on the Commission and it is otherwise stacked with law enforcement or pro-law enforcement types. Next July 1, 2011, you can count on a Kansas DUI being more expensive, carrying more jail time, resulting in more driver’s license suspensions, and otherwise being harsher than it is even today. Will the real, underlying problem be solved? No. The best Kansas DUI lawyers will be ready when the changes come because these cases can be fought and won, but every DUI will have to be a battle.