BATON ROUGE (AP) – Lawmakers seeking to curtail drunken driving backed a string of proposals that crack down on repeat offenders, toughen penalties and give law enforcement officers more methods to test drivers. Six bills addressing intoxicated drivers have been signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Data from Louisiana State University say 288 people died in alcohol-related crashes last year.
The number of fatal crashes has been in steady decline over the past five years due, with ongoing state initiatives to crack down on repeat drunken drivers.
“These new laws build on our past efforts to make Louisiana’s communities safer by enhancing penalties for multiple offenses and giving law enforcement officials more flexibility to remove drunk drivers from the road,” Jindal said in a statement.
University data shows alcohol-related fatal crashes have declined 34 percent over the last five years. Alcohol-related injury crashes are also down 17 percent. John LeBlanc, executive director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, said the DWI policies that Louisiana has been implementing are critical.
“The combined efforts of enforcement, education and public outreach will continue, and we are optimistic to see the historical declines in alcohol related crashes,” LeBlanc said.
But despite all the advances in vehicle safety, Jamie Ainsworth, spokeswoman for the highway safety commission, said Louisiana usually ranks in the top 10 states of overall alcohol-related fatal crashes. Floyd Johnson, executive director of the Louisiana chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said much of that can be attributed to the state’s drinking culture.
“Even though our rates have been decreasing, we’re still high compared to the national level,” Johnson said.
Several of the bills signed into law were proposed by Sen. Jonathan Perry, R-Kaplan, a member of the governor’s DWI-Vehicular Homicide Task Force. One measure addresses third-offense DWI by allowing judges to issue ignition interlock systems and restricted driver’s licenses after 45 days if the offender is in good standing. Under present law, drivers who are convicted of a third offense have their licenses suspended for three years.
Perry said the bill was introduced at the request of the drug and alcohol courts. Three-time offenders will only qualify for the hardship licenses if they “enroll at one of the drug or alcohol courts that are currently set up throughout the state,” Perry said in April.
Another of Perry’s bills includes drugs in an offender’s system as a factor in vehicular homicide, enabling law enforcement to target drivers who drive with illegal or non-prescribed drugs in their system.
One measure clarifies existing law on whether law enforcement officers can use multiple tests to assess a driver. Officers can’t use Breathalyzer tests to figure out if drugs are present in a driver’s system, and under present law, it was unclear whether an offender’s refusal to submit to other tests warranted a license suspension. A bill by Rep. Steve Pylant, R-Winnsboro, closes the loophole and allows officer’s to test for drunkenness and drug impairment.
“There were several occasions with DWI statutes where ‘tests’ were in plural form. But there were a couple of statutes that still had the old language of just ‘test’ that wasn’t consistent with the other language in the statutes. So we’re basically just changing that so it would all be uniform,” Pylant said.
Other bills toughen penalties on repeat offenders. A measure by Rep. Sherman Mack mandates that drivers who are convicted of two DWI’s within a year be sentenced to 30 days in prison and participate in a substance abuse program.
“This bill cuts both ways. It helps the victims and the people on the road,” said Mack, R-Albany.
Mack said his best friend was killed by a third-offense drunken driver in 2007. Third offense DWI’s are a felony in Louisiana, but the first two offenses are considered misdemeanors. Mack, an attorney, said he’s seen people come into his office with first offense misdemeanors who don’t take the arrest seriously because there isn’t enough deterrence for the first or second offenses.
“My hope is that this bill saves lives. That was the intent of the bill,” Mack said.
Despite the package of bills signed by the governor, many others failed in the Legislature, including a Perry bill that would have required offenders with a blood-alcohol concentration of .15 percent or more, whether or not it was their first offense, to serve 48 hours in prison. Legislators criticized the price tag of the proposal and the burden on state prisons.
 
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