Repeat drunk drivers in Colorado will be forced to spend time in jail under a new law set to go into effect on Thursday. House Bill 1347 requires second-time offenders to face a minimum of 10 days in jail and third-time offenders a minimum of two months in jail. The maximum penalty for each crime remains one year behind bars.

The legislation came about after a Denver Post series of stories showing how different judges throughout the state were interpreting the current law. Roughly 200 people died in drunk driving related crashes in Colorado last year, according to the Colorado State Patrol. That is an average of one person every 43 hours.

Traffic safety officers hope the new measures will send the right message to those thinking of drinking and driving. "We can talk about going to jail," Sgt. John Hahn, the head public information officer for the State Patrol, said. "We can talk about fines, it's a $10,000 average fine for somebody convicted of DUI, but the message is this: all of that aside, the 200 deaths that happened last year at the hands of a drunk driver are absolutely preventable."

Hahn said the CSP made 572 DUI arrests during last year's Fourth of July holiday weekend. Their officers will join with officers from dozens of other law enforcement agencies throughout the state to increase patrols this holiday weekend. For further information, contact your Local Colorado DUI Attorneyor your Local El Paso County DUI Attorney.