News and Press Releases for October 2007

GOVERNOR URGES GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO MAKE DUI REFORM A TOP PRIORITY

October 31, 2007

Columbia, S.C. – As parents across South Carolina prepared to go out on the streets with their children tonight, Governor Mark Sanford today joined with law enforcement officials and Mothers Against Drunk Driving to continue their call for making DUI reform a top order of business in the coming legislative session.

In February, Gov. Sanford joined with legislators and other law enforcement personnel from across the state to call for passage of legislation based upon the work of the SC Impaired Driving Council. The legislation would stiffen penalties for repeat offenders and would remove some of the administrative roadblocks and loopholes that currently impede police in their efforts to enforce the .08 legislation. The bill cleared the House late in the legislative session, and is currently being reviewed by a Senate panel.

“At a time of year when a whole host of parents and children are going to be traveling on South Carolina roads, we wanted to take the opportunity to again highlight the need to fix the tragic reality in our state of too many people dying each year due to anemic DUI laws,” Gov. Sanford said. “That reality is made all the more tragic by the fact that there are some in the General Assembly who profit from the current loopholes in the system and have indicated that they may be willing to stand in the way of reform. I’d urge every South Carolinian who cares about ending this senseless carnage on our roads to make their voices heard and tell their Senator that it’s past time for our state to get serious about DUI reform.”

“Some have argued that there’s nothing wrong with our DUI laws, and that we simply need more police officers on the streets enforcing them,” said Spartanburg Solicitor Trey Gowdy, chairman of the state Prosecution Coordination Commission. “While more law enforcement is always helpful, I’d challenge anyone who actually believes that’s the biggest issue to spend a little time talking to police officers and prosecutors. What you’ll find out very quickly is that even a hundred times more law enforcement won’t make a bit of difference with the loophole-ridden DUI laws that we have. If we’re serious about saving lives in South Carolina, that’s something that has to change.”

One alcohol-related death occurs on our nation’s roads every 31 minutes, and one alcohol-related injury occurs every two minutes. In 2005, South Carolina ranked seventh in vehicle deaths per 100,000 miles driven, with alcohol being a significant factor in these deaths. South Carolina is 9th in the country for the percentage of drunk drivers in fatal crashes. In part due to the difficulty in getting DUI convictions, plea bargaining in DUI cases is rampant – 40 percent of repeat DUI offenders in South Carolina plead guilty to lesser offenses.