Here’s the sobering truth: About two-thirds of all deaths caused by drunken drivers are committed by people facing their first DUI arrest.
Here’s the intoxicating fable: Making repeat drunken driving a felony will make Colorado roads safer.
It won’t happen.
It hasn’t happened in the 46 states that have made repeat DUI convictions potential felonies. We know this because the rate of DUI charges across the country has fallen in states that have created such felony laws at the same rate as states, such as Colorado, that do not impose such felony convictions.
It’s not that we’re trying to protect people who arguably deserve to go to prison for endangering or harming other motorists with their drunkeness, it’s just that sending repeat DUI offenders to prison doesn’t do any good, and it costs taxpayers huge sums of money.
Drunken driving is a serious problem in Colorado, as it is all over the country, and it deserves the attention of lawmakers to find ways to eliminate it. About 150 people are killed in Colorado each year because of drunken driving. And about 25,000 people are arrested in the state each year for driving under the influence of alcohol. The most disturbing fact of all is that Federal highway safety officials estimate that those arrested for driving drunk have driven impaired or drunk 80 times before they get their first arrest.
This is a problem of enforcement and compliance, not jail time. Arrests do little to stop the worst offenders. Fines do little. Confiscating driver licenses do little. Research shows that about 75 percent of people who lose their licenses because of drunken driving keep right on driving, even in states that can do impose felony convictions.
This year, state lawmakers are again considering a bill that would make some DUI convictions a felony. This time, the measure could pass, and it has the tentative support of Gov. John Hickenlooper.
It seems like a good idea, but it just won’t work. It’s because of the nature of the crime. In most, if not all, of the most egregious DUI cases, the perpetrators suffer from alcoholism more than criminal intent. It means we have to pay to put these felons in prison, then pay even more when they return to society as an untreated alcoholic who now has a felony conviction record.
A realistic solution has to do with forcing drunk drivers into treatment, and forcing them to remain compliant through mandatory testing and mandatory drunk-driving ignition prevention systems. These interlock systems are far from perfect, but they shift the cost of keeping drunks off the road to the drunks themselves, and not taxpayers. Colorado can further reduce drunken driving by enhancing it’s already successful “Heat Is On” campaigns coordinated by the Colorado State Patrol.
All of this won’t end drunken driving in Colorado. Because we are a society that bestows so many liberties, it’s impossible to find a perfect solution.
We already know from other states that handing out felony convictions to repeated DUI offenders doesn’t reduce drunken driving. So find something that does.
I would support your recommendations ALONG WITH jail/prison for repeat offenses after this treatment. Whether incarceration works or not, there needs to be some kind of accountability for people who ultimately will not follow the rules. Drunken driving can cause tragic and needless deaths, and I would hate to see a loved one die by someone incurring their 15th DUI and officials didn’t come back on that person with a stiff punishment.
Most DUI fatal accidents are caused by first time DUI offenders. Here’s a national report: https://responsibility.org/sites/default/files/files/TCC-AIDF_2012.pdf
The last figures I saw was that the average drunk driver drives drunk 80 times a year. So how many drunk drivers are there on the road at any one time? Who really knows. However, I do agree with the felony DUI law to get those who are arrested repeatedly locked up. If the normal DUI drives 80 times a year, how many times are these people driving impaired and endangering me, my family and friends. Multiply that by the number of people who have numerous DUI arrests and the danger gets even higher. I understand that locking people up is expensive but at some point that cost is far less important than the cost in human lives and broken families DUI’s cause. Colorado has to get past the fear of putting people in jail and protect those of us who respect the law and follow it.
Understood, but at some point, that DUI offender will be let out of prison, will not have been treated for likely alcoholism, and will then have a felony conviction on his/her record.
It creates a vicious cycle that repeats itself over and over again. Strict treatment programs, plus interlock systems in offender’s vehicles, is a better solution for long term success in this matter.
Ah yes, ‘coddling and treatment’, NO punishment.
Dave, what ever happened to your editorial page staple; “if it saves only one life” the law should be passed?
It no longer ‘fit’ the liberal narrative, ‘coddling and rehabilitation’
One cannot drive drunk if he or she is sitting in a prison cell.
It ain’t like it used to be. Since the advent of the automobile no one relies on their horse to find the way home after a night on the town.
Weekends are the worst. I avoid driving, riding, or even walking on the roads on weekends, defensive evasive maneuvers can only do so much.
From the second DUI on we seize whatever car your driving. If you run from the police then prosecutors shouldn’t accept any plea agreements. If our courts weren’t so lax on offenders it would help too.
The solution is not the felony DUI bill. It’s well proven that a felony sentence isn’t a deterrent, and 50% of felons go out and repeat themselves. Also, most fatal DUI accidents are from people with a first-time DUI. The amount of alcohol is a greater indicator of death than repeat offenses. If you look at a 10+ year period, you can see that DUI has gone down in Colorado without the felony bill. If you kill someone and have a DUI, you already get a felony in Colorado because it’s reckless vehicle manslaughter. The problem is that the sentence is the treatment for DUI is the same for the first time offender as it is for the multiple-offender. Change the treatment for first-time offenders, so there is no repeat offenders. There are billions of cars on Colorado roads every year, and there were only 152 fatal DUI related accidents last year. That’s going to happen. It costs $30,000 a year in taxpayer money for one prisoner for one year. Not only that, but if this passes, those felony cases go from county court to district court – more staffing, more taxpayer money. This proposed law only benefits people who work in the courts, police and prisons. If you want to save lives, fund addiction treatment, and change the treatment plan. Ignition locks work, do more of that. Make the roads safer, and things easier to see. That’ll create jobs and reduce accidents. There are far more effective ways to spend taxpayer dollars that have a far greater contribution to society. The “saving lives” mantra is a made up political lie pulling on people’s emotions.
Sure, like rounding up the drug addicts and drunks downtown and getting them ‘help’ spend a few million wasted dollars on this scum. Watch the show intervention, ‘Carol spent 16 months at Seaside Retreat in California, she relapsed 3 week after her release’ (and who do you think paid for that ‘rehabilitation’? Rubbish.
Ah, the liberal end game, ‘coddling and programs’ NO jails, NO prisons, NO guilt, NO responsibility, NO accountability, just ‘coddling and programs’ ‘The Death Penalty doesn’t work’ (same as this rubbish) why? Well, the way it’s administered is too ‘cruel and unusual’ let’s prepare a sleeping potion that doesn’t upset the convict or cause him any pain or aggravation, hanging is too penal, a firing squad, oh my no! Now we’re in the throes of ‘the mixture caused the convict to groan and he didn’t die for 30 minutes’ think a bullet takes that long? A rope? Nope. Liberals can hold no one responsible, no one, ‘a program and rehabilitation will do this murderer a world of good’, rubbish.
I don’t agree. Most people WILL NEVER put themselves in a position of getting a DWI out of fear of going to jail (or killing someone). We’re not talking about the people who have regard for the law and human life. We’re talking about the ones who don’t . The problem is we do not enforce the law. Repeat offenders more often than not ARE NOT going to jail. How many times do repeat offenders get?… 2…3…4…5…10?? A PERFECT SOLUTION DOES EXIST: ENFORCE THE LAW!! To the person who wrote this article… A better article would be one with the number of repeat offenders and the names of the judges that let them continue to break the law.