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The Vermont Supreme Court has reinstated charges against a Franklin County man accused of steering a large, slow-moving piece of construction machinery called a boom lift while he was drunk.

Justices unanimously overturned a lower-court judge’s ruling that threw out charges against construction worker Scott S., whose attorneys had argued that the boom lift wasn’t a “motor vehicle” under state law for the purposes of drunken driving violations.

“That the machine travels at a relatively slow speed and is generally driven only relatively short distances is immaterial,” Associate Justice John Dooley wrote in the high court’s opinion, released Thursday. “The boom lift may proceed slowly, but it is a large piece of heavy machinery that could inflict personal injury or property damage if it ran into a person or personal or real property.”

If you’ve also been charged with Vermont DUI, you should promptly contact a Vermont DUI lawyer to discuss how to proceed. If you are convicted, it could have a significant impact on your future.

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While prosecutors and defense attorneys agree there could be some benefit to changes in a stiffer driving under the influence law that warrants more jail time and enforcement, some officials are at odds on whether the changes are worth the expense.

Effective Sept. 1, Alabama Senate Bill 61 will require a year of jail time versus three months for first-time DUI offenders and double penalties for offenders whose blood alcohol content is 0.15 or higher at the time of arrest.

A driver is considered legally intoxicated once their BAC reaches 0.08.

In addition to the Senate bill, state House Bill 361 will require the installation of an ignition interlock device for all offenders who are convicted of a DUI and had a blood alcohol content of 0.15 or higher at the time of their arrest.

The offenders will be expected to blow into the interlock device before cranking a vehicle, according to House bill. The vehicle should not start if the blood alcohol content is 0.02 or higher.

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Companies that provide ignition-locking devices for vehicles are preparing for a surge in business after a new state law requiring more drivers to use them went into effect on July 1.

The demand for ignition interlock systems began even before Kansas enacted the law that requires more people to install the devices after being convicted of drunken driving, The Salina Journal reported Monday. The vehicles won’t start if the machines detect alcohol on the breath of a driver who blows into it.

The law requires first-time offenders to have interlock installed in their vehicles for at least six months. Subsequent offenses mean having the devices in a vehicle longer, culminating with 10 years for a fifth DUI. Previously, the devices weren’t required until a person had a second DUI offense.

Jeremy Gentry, operations manager for Hutchinson-based LifeSafer Interlock of Kansas, said that company plans to add several new service centers and 30 more installation sites to the 17 Kansas sites already operating.

The law requires first-time offenders to have interlock installed in their vehicles for at least six months. Subsequent offenses mean more years of interlock requirements, culminating with 10 years for a fifth DUI. Previously, the devices usually weren’t required until a person had a second DUI offense.

“We’ve been noticing our numbers going up in Kansas even before the law changed,” said Brad Fralick, the director of government relations for Consumer Safety Technology, of Des Moines, Iowa., one of seven companies manufacturing interlock devices approved for use in Kansas.
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Vancouver police say nearly one of every five drivers checked during a recent six-night CounterAttack campaign was impaired or prohibited.

Constable Lindsey Houghton says the results are completely unacceptable, considering recent statistics show B-C’s tough, new drunk driving laws have cut the number of impaired driving deaths in half since last October.

Houghton says 524 people were checked during the latest roadside blitz across Vancouver.

He says 98 people were ticketed for impaired driving offences and seven were taken off the road for driving while prohibited, for a total of 105 impounded vehicles over six days.

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Updates have resolved problems raised when the Tennessee Legislature passed a law requiring judges to hold second-time DUI offenders without bond.

“I just don’t think that’s right. I don’t think that’s constitutional,” Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Clarence Shattuck said.

During the 2010 legislative session, lawmakers passed restrictions aimed at detaining second and subsequent DUI offenders under the auspices of community safety.

The law, which took effect in January, stated that anyone with a previous DUI who was arrested again on the same charge was categorized as a “danger to the community,” regardless of when the other DUI took place or the circumstances of the new arrest.

But the new law smacked against defendants’ constitutional rights, which allow for a bond on noncapital offenses. DUI is a misdemeanor.

“If the Legislature wants to come in and set bonds from Nashville, then we don’t need magistrates in Hamilton County, and that should not be the case,” said local attorney Brian O’Shaughnessy.

So the Legislature amended the law earlier this year to give judges the discretion to take away driving privileges, use alcohol-monitoring equipment and house arrest to address safety concerns rather than keep a DUI defendant in jail.

By the time the Legislature made the change, Hamilton County judges already were using such techniques.

Local magistrates — the on-call rotating judges who set bonds — and Hamilton County General Sessions Court judges discussed the law after it was passed and decided to use discretion and additional restrictions in their sentencing rather than deny bond.

“Having to determine whether a defendant is a danger to the public makes ‘fortune tellers’ out of judges in many cases,” wrote Hamilton County Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon in February. “I have no idea what a defendant is going to do once he or she makes bond or is placed on probation.”

Shattuck said that, until the law was changed, many judges differed in their execution of the law, causing a lot of confusion.

When the law was first passed last year, its problems received almost immediate attention across the state.

In Davidson County Criminal Court, Judge Mark Fishburn ordered the county’s night court commissioners to stop denying bond in such cases.

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Getting behind the wheel of a vehicle is dangerous, and it’s made even more so when drivers consume alcohol.

Drinking and driving is a year-round issue, but celebrations surrounding holiday weekends can lead to an increase in the number of drunk drivers.

“We want people to think,” said Hall County Sheriff Jerry Watson. “We want to bring it to the forefront and make people think before they do something stupid. (Driving) is by far the most dangerous thing we do on a daily basis. It’s routine.”

Watson, along with countless others, supports the changes to the drunk driving laws that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2012. LB 667 and LB 675 change some of the penalties convicted drunk drivers face.

For example, the 12 year look-back limitation will be removed, there will be separate penalties for boating under the influence, punishments will be enhanced for procuring alcohol for a minor when it causes serious injury or death, and ignition interlock devices will be mandatory for first- and second-offense DUI. In addition, drunk drivers with four prior convictions will receive a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, fines will be doubled, the penalty for leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death or serious injury will be increased, and a new crime will be created for those driving with illegal drugs in their systems.
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A new and tougher drunken driving law goes into effect today in Kansas that will require first-time offenders to use devices on their vehicles to prevent them from driving while intoxicated.

According to a news release from the Kansas Department Transportation, the law passed by the 2011 Legislature requires motorists convicted of driving under the influence to use interlock devices on their vehicles, creates a system to track repeat offenders and strengthens most penalties.

Some highlights of the new law:

n Failure of a breath test with a result between 0.08 and 0.15, on the first occurrence, will bring a 30-day suspension followed by six months of ignition-interlock device if your record is clear and 12 months of interlock if you have a prior open container violation or three or more moving violations.

n Failure of a breath test with a result over 0.15 the first time, or over 0.08 on a second or subsequent occurrence will bring a one-year suspension followed by ignition interlock (length of interlock is dependent on priors).

n Refusal of a breath, blood or urine test brings a one-year suspension, followed by ignition-interlock requirement (length of interlock is dependent on priors), regardless of how many previous Kansas DUIs a person has.

The new law also creates a central repository that will give law enforcement, prosecutors and judges access to drivers’ records, making it easier to track repeat offenders.

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The Commonwealth of Virginia has enacted some of the strictest drunk-driving laws in the nation. For any motorist, being familiar with Virginia’s policies on driving under the influence (DUI) is beneficial.

A Criminal Offense with Stiff Penalties

In Virginia, anyone operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher may be arrested and charged with driving under the influence. However, even drivers with BACs lower than .08 may be convicted of DUI if they show signs of impairment or if they are under the age of 21 and the presence of alcohol is detected with a breath or blood test.
The penalties for a first-time DUI conviction are a minimum fine of $250 and revocation of the driver’s license for a year, in addition to a mandatory jail term if the driver’s BAC was greater than .15 at the time of arrest. For a second DUI conviction, the minimum fine is $500, license revocation is for three years and a jail sentence of up to one year may be imposed.

The penalties for people with three or more DUI convictions are even more strict. A third DUI conviction carries a minimum $1,000 fine, a mandatory six-month period of incarceration, indefinite driver’s license suspension and possible prosecution for a Class 6 felony. People with four or more DUI convictions face mandatory jail sentences of at least one year, among other penalties.
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Jackass star Ryan Dunn had received at least 23 driving citations in the 13 years before his fatal car accident Monday.

Pennsylvania police say they believe Dunn, 34, was driving at least 130 m.p.h. when his Porsche 911 GT3 veered off the road, slammed through a guardrail, tumbled into a wooded ravine, hit a tree, and burst into flames.

Of Dunn’s driving citations, 10 were for speeding and careless driving, and three more were for driving with a suspended license, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Among those, 90 percent of which ended in guilty pleas, was a 2005 DUI arrest. Charges were dropped when he completed a probationary program. His license was suspended for more than a year, court records show.
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