Governor calls summit to discuss Missouri DWI problem
Governor Jay Nixon assembled a panel of 34 officials, including police, lawyers and politicians, to discuss the problem of drunken driving in the state of Missouri. The summit is in response to the large number of fatal Missouri car accidents caused by drunken drivers and a recent St. Louis Post Dispatch report exposing numerous loopholes allowing dangerous drivers back on the road.
One common problem is that repeat offenders were not charged as such. Despite having a three-strikes law in Missouri, numerous repeat offenders who should be charged with felonies are set free with misdemeanors or less. The Post Dispatch reports this happens about half the time in St. Louis County.
Officials on the panel said that law enforcement needs to have a better way of tracking these repeat offenders so they can be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Another problem discussed at the meeting was the issue of refusing a blood alcohol test. Under current Missouri law, if you refuse a blood alcohol test, you are supposed to automatically lose your license for a year. This is often not the case, though, as thousands of drivers were allowed to stay on the road after refusing the test due to various loopholes and appeals.
A suggested solution to this problem was to make refusing a blood alcohol test a crime punishable by more severe penalties than just losing your license. Several other states have adopted a similar law. This law would only reduce Missouri car accidents if it was more strictly enforced, though, and the loopholes that existed for the loss of license rule don't carry over to the criminal charges.
Missouri annually ranks among in the top third of states for most alcohol-related fatalities. With hundreds of drunk driving deaths every year, we often outpace similarly populated states.
If you have lost someone to a drunken driving accident or have been injured yourself, contact a Missouri personal injury lawyer to discuss your case.
