It’s no surprise that newspapers in Alabama are calling for the Alabama Legislature to toughen DUI laws in Alabama.
While the crime is serious, it’s also the whipping boy of politicians. They love to show constituents they are tough on crime by increasing penalties. So if you or a loved one is charged with DUI, call on Alabama DUI attorneys.
The Huntsville Times in a recent editorial urged lawmakers to create law requiring the addition of an ignition interlock device to vehicles of drivers convicted of drunk driving charges. Two lawmakers have sponsored bills that would require the devices for repeat offenders and first-time convicts whose blood-alcohol level is .15 or greater, which is almost twice the .08 legal limit.
The newspaper believes adding the punishment would make streets and highways safer because there are many multiple DUI offenders statewide. As discussed in the Alabama DUI Lawyer Blog recently, Alabama is the only state in the union without an ignition interlock device law on the books.
These laws are just another invasion into the lives of people who make a mistake. DUI has become a very political offense, possibly more than any other type of crime. And lawmakers will continue upping the hoops a convicted drunk driver has to jump through.
But many of these people simply had one beer too many or were caught in a sobriety checkpoint run by police. Sometimes, they are unfairly targeted. A first offense is often the most beatable while the tiered nature of the state’s DUI laws ensure a subsequent offense will come with harsher penalties.
Field sobriety tests may not have been properly performed. Often, rookie officers don’t know the proper procedures for administering these tests. Sometimes, overzealous troopers so desperately want an arrest they mistake drowsiness or reaction to a medication as drunkenness.
Often, breath tests give out incorrect readings. States across the country are reeling from manufacturing errors and other problems that cause breathalyzers to give out bad readings, leading to improper convictions.
There are defenses. So, while legislators mull trying to stiffen the penalties for DUI, you should be thinking about hiring an Alabama DUI attorney committed to fighting beside you.
