According the Alabama Department of Economics and Community Affairs, there were 240 fatalities from alcohol-related auto accidents in the state in 2009. Spurred on by the havoc that drunk drivers wreak on the roads, Alabama lawmakers took steps to try to prevent people from driving drunk. As of September 1, 2011, some drivers convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Alabama will face harsher penalties. The state legislature passed two laws increasing the punishment that drivers convicted of DUI face in June 2011. The new laws will affect not only those convicted of DUI, but also innocent drivers injured in drunk driving auto accidents.
Double Minimum Punishment Act
Lawmakers are calling Act 11-621 the "Double Minimum Punishment Act." Under the provisions of this new law, those drivers convicted of DUI who had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.15 percent or higher will receive double the mandatory punishment for a misdemeanor DUI.
Currently, the punishment for a misdemeanor DUI in Alabama is a one year minimum jail sentence. A judge can choose to suspend the sentence entirely, unless it is the defendant's second or third offense, in which case the defendant must serve five days for a second offense and 60 days for a third offense. Additionally, the judge will issue a fine of $600 to $2,100 for a first offense. Fines increase to $1,100 to $5,100 for a second offense.
A DUI conviction results in a driver's license suspension for 90 days. However, the new law also mandates that the Alabama Director of Public Safety revoke the convicted drunk driver's license for at least one year in the event that the driver's BAC was higher than 0.15
Ignition Interlock Law
The second law the Alabama legislature passed was an ignition interlock law, which goes into effect September 1, 2012. By passing an ignition interlock law, Alabama became the last state in the country to have such a law. The new law mandates that repeat offenders have an ignition interlock device on his or her vehicle. The driver must provide a breath sample into the device before the car will start. If the driver's breath registers alcohol, the car will not start. Alabama's ignition interlock law also allows judges to require ignition interlock for first-time offenders if their BACs were 0.15 or higher.
Goals of the New Laws
Drunk driving prevention advocates praise Alabama's new laws as a step in the right direction for increasing safety on the roads and decreasing accidents. MADD issued a statement in favor of the ignition interlock law, citing the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) statistic that a first-time DUI offender drives while intoxicated an average of 87 times before police catch him or her. CDC data also shows that ignition interlock devices reduce drunk driving recidivism by 67 percent on average.
New Laws Will Help Accident Victims
The new laws will also benefit those that drunk drivers injure in auto accidents. In order to recover damages in a personal injury lawsuit, a plaintiff needs to show that the defendant was violating a legal duty owed to the plaintiff. In a car accident claim, proving that the defendant violated a driving statute helps prove that the defendant breached the duty that all drivers owe to others on the road to operate their cars with care.
Drunk driving is a real problem on Alabama roads. If you were injured in an auto accident involving a drunk driver, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact a personal injury attorney to help you hold the responsible party accountable and preserve your rights.
