Sanford approves stricter DUI law
In a year when the number of alcohol-related driving arrests has increased in the City of Aiken by 50 percent, new legislation aimed at closing loopholes that proponents say will help prosecute those cases has been applauded locally.
The bill, signed by Gov. Mark Sanford on Tuesday, toughens penalties for most first-time offenses and all second and subsequent offenses, removing community service sentencing options after a repeated conviction and requiring jail time.
But it also closes loopholes that Solicitor Barbara Morgan once said, at times, makes prosecuting a drunken driver in the Palmetto State more difficult than prosecuting a murderer.
Under the new legislation, police are required to read Miranda rights to DUI suspects only once. Officers before had to read those warnings three times during a DUI investigation, said Sen. Shane Massey, who served on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee that worked on the DUI bill.
A DUI investigation lasts no more than two hours, he explained.
Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt said the changes were a long time coming.
“I think this is a step in the right direction if we are serious about reducing DUI-related fatalities,” he said.
The bill introduces a “tiered” penalty system with greater punishments for offenders who are grossly intoxicated. It also creates tougher penalties for those who refuse to take blood alcohol tests.
A person 21 or older who refuses to submit to a Breathalyzer will receive a mandatory six-month suspension of his driver’s license before he ever faces prosecution.
Sen. Greg Ryberg said the changes will serve to keep more drunken drivers off the roadways.
“I am glad that my amendment to stiffen the license suspension (from three to six months) for those refusing to take the Breathalyzer test remains in the bill,” he stated Tuesday.
Debate was contentious among lawmakers during the process, especially when dealing with the penalties first-time offenders face. Those have also increased under the final draft of the bill.
Anyone convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) or driving with an unlawful alcohol concentration (DUAC) must successfully complete an alcohol and drug treatment program.
From July 2006 to April 15, 2007, Aiken Public Safety charged 81 drivers with either DUI or DUAC.
From July 1, 2007, to April 15, 2008, they made 121 arrests on those charges.
The two charges now have the same penalties associated with them.
Driving with an unlawful alcohol concentration means the driver has a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or greater.
The DUI law requires proof of intoxication.
The .08 percent law was passed on August 19, 2003, as a result of the not-so-subtle coaxing of the federal government, which mandated the .08 limit be in place in order for states to receive highway funding.
Massey explained that the .08 percent law was rarely used because of the technicalities written into the law at the time.
The new law takes effect Feb. 10, 2009.
The Aiken Standard
4/16/08
By Karen Daily
kdaily@aikenstandard.com
April 28th, 2008 at 1:50 am
as i read that you teach and tutor students and teach sunday school classes, i think you should use your teaching abilities to aware citizens about immigrants and the bills trying to be passed. informing people can only be for the best