The first significant changes to the state's drunken driving laws since the state lowered the legal limit in 2003 are set to take effect Thursday.
Whether the new penalties – which include increased jail time, higher fines and ignition interlock devices for some first-time offenders and all repeat offenders – have the deterrent effect legislators intended will not be known for a few months, but those who work within the criminal justice system believe the changes are a step in the right direction.
Under the legislation Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law in December, jail time and fines increase for offenses. Those sentenced to jail will also have to report immediately to serve their sentence. Under the old laws, they were given a report date that was up to 60 days in the future.
The new laws also call for an ignition interlock device to be installed any vehicle owned by or registered to owners who are convicted of a repeated OWI, first-time offenders whose blood alcohol concentration was 0.15 or higher or those who refuse a preliminary breath test or blood draw to determine alcohol level.
Wisconsin remains the only state in the nation where first-time drunken driving is not a criminal offense. However, under the new regulations, if a passenger in the vehicle is under 16, it is a criminal offense punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine ranging from $350 to $1,100.
The laws were strengthened in an effort to combat Wisconsin's drunken driving issue. Alcohol-related crashes killed 238 people and injured 3,793 in 2009, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. About 45,000 drivers were convicted of drunken driving statewide in 2009. In Winnebago County, the district attorney's office prosecutes between 1,200 and 1,400 drunken drivers per year. For further information, contact your Local Winnebago County OWI Attorney.
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