Coalition Applauds Signing of Maryland Drunk Driving
Legislation; Maryland Bills Crack Down on Repeat Drunk Drivers
ANNAPOLIS, Md., April
25 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition to Fight Hardcore Drunk Driving today
applauds Governor Parris Glendening's signing of Maryland HB 4 and SB
21. The Coalition supports comprehensive anti-drunk driving legislation
with special emphasis on hardcore drunk drivers, and these bills take
important steps in the right direction in Maryland.
Although progress
has been made in the past ten years nationwide in reducing alcohol-related
deaths and injuries, the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities
increased to 16,653 in 2000. According to the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 225 alcohol-related traffic
fatalities in Maryland in 2000, an 11.4% increase from the previous
year.
Recognizing the
need for coordination and leadership in the fight to reduce alcohol-related
fatalities and injuries, our organizations -- The Century Council, a
national not-for-profit organization funded by America's leading distillers,
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) -- began working together last year to focus attention
on a part of the drunk driving population where much work needs to be
done: the hardcore drunk driver. Hardcore drunk drivers are individuals
who drive with a high blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .15
percent or above, who do so repeatedly, and who are highly resistant
to changing their behavior despite sanctions, treatment or education
efforts.
``Maryland legislators
have taken important steps to crack down on repeat drunk driving offenders.
The Coalition supports a comprehensive program of sanctions, such as
those offered in these bills,'' said the Honorable Susan Molinari, Chairman
of The Century Council.
``HB 4 strengthens
penalties for repeat offenders by requiring mandatory license suspensions,
mandatory placement of ignition interlocks in each of the offender's
vehicles, and rehabilitative treatment in certain circumstances. The
bill cracks down on repeat offenders by establishing mandatory minimum
criminal penalties for hardcore drunk driving,'' said Wendy Hamilton,
MADD MD and MADD National President-elect.
Under the new law,
the licenses of people re-offending within a five-year period of a prior
conviction are suspended for a year. Within three months of the one-year
suspension's end, the offender is notified that he or she will be issued
a restrictive license and must maintain an ignition interlock on each
vehicle that he or she owns for no less than three months and no more
than one year. Convicted offenders are not eligible for a restricted
license during the mandatory suspension period.
``HB 4 is an important
first step and has a good chance of saving lives in Maryland. The National
Transportation Safety Board supports the use of ignition interlocks,
and we hope that Maryland will extend the applicability to even more
offenders,'' said Kevin Quinlan, Chief, Safety Advocacy Division, NTSB.
For a second violation
within five years, offenders face a mandatory minimum imprisonment of
five days home confinement with electronic monitoring or stay at a rehabilitative
facility or the option of 30 days community service. These penalties
double on a third violation.
Senate Bill 21 prohibits
drivers and passengers from having open containers of alcohol in vehicles
while driving on the highway. Banning open containers of alcohol in
the passenger and driver areas of vehicles is a basic yet vital step
in discouraging drunk driving.
For more information
on the Coalition, please contact Leslie Blakey at 202-828-9100.
SOURCE: Coalition
to Fight Hardcore Drunk Driving
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