DELEGATE ERIC BROMWELL

February 17, 2003

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

CLAMPING DOWN ON DRUNK DRIVERS

Alcohol involvement remains the leading factor in motor vehicle deaths. And motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans, 6 through 33 years of age.

After several years of progress in reducing alcohol-related driving fatalities, Maryland drunk driving deaths are increasing. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 44% of the state’s traffic fatalities were alcohol-related in 2001. That’s the highest rate since 1990. The NHTSA report shows that 290 people died in drunk driving crashes in Maryland in 2001, up from 240 in 2000 and 215 in 1999.

Drunk driving deaths are deaths that can be prevented. To that end, legislation has been introduced to crack down on drunk drivers and repeat drunk drivers.

It has been estimated that 65% of the highway accidents are caused by individuals with high blood alcohol levels. Senate Bill 410 singles out for harsh penalties the drunk drivers, who have more than twice the .08 blood alcohol limit for gauging individuals driving under the influence. For a first offense, these individuals, known as “superdrunks,” will be subject to a fine up to $1,500 and up to 18 months in jail or both. A second offense will draw a fine of up to $3,000 or imprisonment for up to 3 years or both.

According to a Motor Vehicle Administration – MVA – report, 80% of first time drunk drivers are alcohol abusers and more than one in three first time offenders will go out and drive drunk again. Drunk drivers make anywhere from 100 to 600 trips driving drunk before that are arrested for he first time.

Another effective bill to clamp down on drunk drivers is SB 383 or “John’s Law.” The bill is named for John Elliott, a Naval Academy graduate who was killed by a drunk driver in New Jersey in July 2000. The person who killed Elliot had been arrested three hours earlier on a drunk driving charge. He was released to the custody of a friend, who allowed him to resume driving.

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John’s Law prohibits people arrested on suspicion of DUI from driving for 12 hours after they’re released. If the driver is released to the custody of another person, the police must

provide to that person a written warning of criminal and civil liability for allowing the violator to operate a motor vehicle, while under the influence of alcohol. If an offender is not

released to the custody of another person, the police are required to impound the offender’s vehicle for 12 hours or until the offender is able to operate the vehicle safely.

Current Maryland law provides no provision relating to how long a person arrested for alcohol and/or drug-related driving must or can be detained. It is normal practice to release someone as soon as the necessary arrest procedures are completed. Passage of “John’s Law” will close a glaring loophole in the law. It will keep a drunk driver from getting behind the wheel until he is sober. I can think of few things that make better sense.

The District of Columbia and the states of Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina and Wisconsin have laws that require a minimum period of detainment or vehicle impoundment if a person has been arrested for drunk or drugged driving. However, New Jersey is the only state to enact a law that requires a person appearing on behalf of a person arrested to acknowledge the civil and criminal liability if the arrested driver is given access to a motor vehicle before the driver can safely drive.

Every 30 minutes someone in our nation is killed by a drunk driver. That statistic represents an horrific level of alcohol-related highway carnage that we must combat by the passage of effective drunk driving legislation.

Sincerely,

Eric Bromwell

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