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Editorial: Toughen state’s DUI law

Wed., March 9, 2016

As legislative budget writers strive to meet a Thursday deadline, one issue caught in the negotiations is toughening Washington’s stance on repeat drunken drivers.

Senate Bill 5105 would allow a fourth DUI offense within 10 years to be charged as a class C felony. The Senate unanimously passed the bill three times last year and again this year, only to see it get hung up in the House.

A class C felony conviction means a 13- to 17-month sentence. Such offenders should be behind bars for repeatedly putting others at risk. The current threshold of five offenses is the highest among the 46 states that have such laws. In Idaho, it takes three offenses.

A change in the law would mean an estimated 276 additional felony cases at a cost of about $10 million every two years. The price tag is significant as budget writers try to find the money needed for other priorities, such as education and mental health services.

But the thought of allowing drivers with four DUIs to remain free is frightening. Second chances make sense. But not four chances, when the possibility of deadly consequences is so apparent.

At a Monday news conference, legislative Democrats and Republicans teamed up to make the case for the crackdown.

Spokane Valley Sen. Mike Padden, chairman of the Law and Justice Committee, has been working on this issue for several years. As a former judge, he’s seen the tragic outcomes.

“Time and again, in every community of the state, we see senseless tragedies caused by repeat offenders. What these measures will cost to enforce is more than outweighed by the tragedies they will prevent on our roads and highways,” Padden said on Monday.

SB 5105 would get the state closer to the national average.

Padden championed the last changes in drunken driving laws, in 2013, with a law mandating that repeat offenders be arrested and taken before a judge. In addition, their cars have to be equipped with devices that prevent them from starting if drivers are impaired.

A pilot program was begun in a couple of counties for twice-daily impairment testing for repeat offenders. A separate bill this year would expand so-called 24/7 testing to all counties.

For most people, being convicted once of drunken driving is a sobering, life-changing experience. But others keep climbing behind the wheel, despite the availability of programs to help with substance abuse.

Joan Davis, a board member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, lost her daughter to a drunken driver. At Monday’s news conference she said, “Her killer has become a repeat offender who could very well commit vehicular homicide again.”

Other states have decided they can afford to take these drivers off the road. Washington should do the same.

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