MADD CALLS FOR PASSAGE OF A 3073 -- INTERLOCKS FOR ALL CONVICTED DRUNK DRIVERS; MADD APPLAUDS NEW JERSEY SUPERIOR COURT ON UPHOLDING ANTI-PLEA BARGAINING IN DRUNK DRIVING CASES
TRENTON, N.J., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is encouraged by recent actions in New Jersey to crack down on drunk driving. There was a legislative hearing on a bill requiring interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers and the New Jersey Superior Court, in deference to the policy precedent set by the New Jersey Supreme Court, upholding a ban on plea-bargaining in drunk driving cases. "The scariest things this Halloween are unsafe roads and the potential for drunk driving crashes. Leaders have a chance to change that by taking action by supporting MADD's Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving," said Mindy Lazar, MADD New Jersey executive director.
There were 199 people killed by drunk drivers on New Jersey's roads. In April 2008, the United States Department of Transportation released disturbing data about people with multiple DUI convictions who continue to travel New Jersey's roads. There are 19,841 people with 3 or more DUI convictions and 1,681 of those with 5 or more DUI convictions on New Jersey's roads. Interlocks are an average of 64 percent effective in reducing repeat drunk driving offenses.
MADD is calling on all New Jerseyeans to support Assembly bill 3073 and S 1926 that would require ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers. These bills make up "Ricci's Law" and are named for Ricci Branca, a 17-year-old killed by a drunk driver in a hit-and-run in 2006. MADD testified on behalf of the lifesaving Assembly bill and joined state victim/survivor families asking the public to get involved and countering misinformation provided by some opponents on the legislation. In response to those arguments, MADD has listed the real facts about interlocks and drunk driving below.
Before interlocks can be required by judges statewide, there has to be strong adjudication and MADD appreciates the efforts of the New Jersey Superior Court and New Jersey Supreme Court to uphold a ban on the plea-bargaining of drunk driving cases. The Superior Court of New Jersey's recent decision in State v. Rastogi to uniformly and vigorously enforce a ban on the plea bargaining of drunk driving cases evidences the New Jersey judiciary's commitment to combat drunk driving.
Lazar added, "The judiciary is sending a strong message, now we ask legislators to follow suit and pass legislation requiring interlocks for all convicted offenders."
REAL FACTS ON IGNITION INTERLOCKS AND DRUNK DRIVING:
MYTH: Interlocks cause more crashes.
FACT: This is not true. Rolling re-tests during the offender's drive require them to pull over to conduct the test at certain intervals. They are not having to drive and blow into the device at the same time.
MYTH: Interlocks are easy to bypass.
FACT: This is not true. There is anti-circumvention technology based on various ways to conduct the breath test to identify the offender specifically, as well as many vendors now have cameras and real-time probation information provided.
MYTH: Interlocks cost taxpayers a lot of money.
FACT: Interlock fees of about $2-$3 a day are passed onto the offender, not the taxpayer. In cases where the offender cannot afford this, there is often an indigent fund taken from the offenders' fees to pay for those offenders who cannot pay.
MYTH: Interlocks aren't that effective.
FACT: Interlocks save lives because convicted drunk drivers are not allowed to drive drunk. They are an average of 64 percent effective in reducing repeat offenses.
MYTH: Interlocks are not functional for daily life and many offenders don't want to use them.
FACT: Polls show that offenders do think they are helpful and Interlocks allow the offender to keep driving, keep their family, while proving they are doing so sober as required by probation.
MYTH: Not fair to a 120 pound woman who gets drunk on 2 drinks -- gets a .08 with 2 drinks.
FACT: How much alcohol is in those two drinks? We have never seen this be the case. A standard drink is defined as 5 oz wine, 12 oz beer and 1.5 oz of distilled spirits. It takes a lot of alcohol to reach the illegal BAC of .08 -- about 4 drinks in an hour on an empty stomach for a 170-lb man and three drinks in an hour on an empty stomach for 137-lb woman. You will not reach a .08 BAC level by just drinking a beer, glass of wine or drink with dinner. However you get there, no one has right to be behind the wheel at .08.
MYTH: Cell phone use behind the wheel and speeding cause more damage than drunk driving.
FACT: Drunk driving kills nearly 13,000 people every year and there is years of evidence to show that while drunk driving has declined over the last nearly 30 years, there is still a long way to go. There are nearly 1.5 million arrests for drunk driving every year. According to a 2005 Gallup Survey MADD conducted, driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs was listed as the greatest highway safety problem by the largest percentage of respondents (37 percent) --- up from 29 percent in 2000 -- followed by speeding (27 percent) and cell phones (19 percent).
POINT: Majority of people involved in drunk driving crashes have high BACS -- median BAC is .16.
FACT: Drivers with a BAC level of .08 or higher involved in fatal crashes were eight times more likely to have a prior conviction for driving while impaired (DWI) than were drivers with no alcohol (8% and 1%, respectively). The risk of a driver being killed in a crash at .08 BAC is at least 11 times that of drivers without alcohol in their system. At .10 BAC the risk is at least 29 times higher. In 2006, 84 percent (12,491) of the 14,840 drivers with a BAC of .01 or higher who were involved in fatal crashes had BAC levels at or above .08, and 55 percent (8,201) had BAC levels at or above .15.
MYTH: People can't have champagne at a wedding or beer at a baseball game; you'll get stopped. And besides that, New Jersey's drunk driving laws are good. New Jersey is 4th best in the nation for drunk driving fatalities.
FACT: Again, .08 is not one standard drink. MADD is not against responsible drinking by those 21 and older. If you are stopped after drinking and you are shown to be impaired, there are more rights protecting the citizen than for the police officer trying to determine if you are safe enough to be on the road. New Jersey was ranked eighth in terms of percent of fatalities involving a drunk driver, with 199 people killed. There are 19,841 people with 3 or more DUI convictions and 1,681 of those with 5 or more DUI convictions on New Jersey's roads. If New Jerseyeans are ok with these numbers of deaths and injuries and the possibility of more death and injury, then suffice it to say, that is disgraceful --- tell that to the victims/survivors whose loved ones were killed for no reason.
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