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Show t Drinking drivers beware, says Police Chief Bell Special to the Park Record by Frank Bell The new laws regarding Driving Under the Influence (DUD that were passed by. the 1983 Utah Legislature go into effect August 1. These new laws are some of the toughest in the country and are specifically designed to quickly remove the drinking driver from the highways. About 75 of licensed drivers drink alcoholic beverages bev-erages at least periodically, according to studies performed per-formed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Of those, about 10-15 percent are considered "heavy drinkers," and about 1 percent of drivers who drink are apprehended each year for driving under the influence. Bringing this survey sur-vey closer to Utah, in 1981 there were about 10,000 arrests for DUI out of the approximately one million licensed drivers in the state, or about 1 percent, indicating indicat-ing that Utah falls within national statistics for driving under the influence. The average drinking driver may commit the violation of driving under the influence as many as 80 times per year, thus greatly increasing the odds of either being arrested or becoming involved in an accident. In short, although the odds of being arrested in one special spe-cial event are minimal, a continued pattern of behavior, be-havior, as is the norm with most drinking drivers, means that the law of averages will eventually catch up to the offender. The new Utah laws do away with the "presumption levels" of intoxication as evidence in a criminal case. (Previously, defense attorneys attor-neys could present evidence to show that a client's blood-alcohol level did not impair driving.) The laws also provide for immediate suspension of the drivers license of anyone arrested for DUI; do away with all provisions for obtaining "restricted" or employment drivers licenses for those whose licenses are suspended; sus-pended; and provide stiff penalties for persons convicted con-victed of driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or a drug. Under the new laws, it is a crime in and of itself to operate or be in control of a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol blood-alcohol reading of .08 or more. That means simply that the State need not prove anything but that you were operating a motor vehicle and the blood alcohol reading read-ing was more than .08. Additionally, drunk driving can be established through readings less than .08 if the driving pattern and behavior of the defendant indicate intoxication to the trained officer and the court, or in the event the person arrested fails to submit to a chemical blood breath or urine test. Failure to submit to the test when asked by an officer automatically results in the revocation of a driving license for a period of one year and there are no provisions for obtaining a restricted license, commonly common-ly known as a license to drive to and from work. Upon arrest for drunk driving, the police officer will take the arrested person's per-son's Utah driver's license and send it to the Driver's License Division along with the arrest reports. The officer will provide the driver with a citation that will act as a temporary driving permit for a period of 30 days. The driver has 10 days from arrest to request, in writing, a hearing by the Driver's License Division concerning the automatic suspension of at least 90 days of the driver's license, which results from the arrest. This hearing officer decides only whether or not the police officer had reasonable grounds to male h stop and arrest. If reasonable grounds exist, the suspension suspen-sion goes into effect, regardless regard-less of a future conviction. These are civil hearings and have nothing to do with the criminal aspect of driving driv-ing under the influence. The newly-established criminal penalties upon conviction are as follows: For the first offense, a minimum of 48 consecutive hours in jail, or two days community service work, and attendence at a licensed Alcohol Assessment and Education series; and a maximum of 180 days in jail or any combination of the above. For the second offense within five years, a minimum mini-mum of 48 consecutive hours in jail, or ten days community com-munity service work, and Licensed Alcohol Assessment Assess-ment and Education Program; Pro-gram; and a maximum of 180 days in jail and or any combination of the above. For the third conviction within five years, a minimum mini-mum of 30 days in jail, or 30 days community service work, and in-patient Alcohol facility treatment. Driving on an alcohol or drug related suspension or revocation of license is now a Class A Misdemeanor punishable pun-ishable by up to one year in the county jail and a fine not to exceed $1,000, and an additional one-year revocation revoca-tion of the license. (It is also a Class A Misdemeanor to be involved in an injury accident acci-dent while driving under the influence, punishable as above.) The financial ramifications ramifica-tions of both arrest and conviction of DUI may be more serious than the criminal crimi-nal sanctions. In addition to fines ranging up to $1,000, additional fees for alcohol treatment programs may be imposed-up to $150 on the first offense and $299 on the second. Another fee of $100 is added for the state Victim Restitution Fund for persons charged in DUI, automobile homicide, or plea bargained cases. There are additional fees that vary locally for the impounding of the vehicle, towing, storage, and a $25 fee o obtain a new driver's license after suspension. Again, there are no provisions provi-sions for restricted licenses, thus you will not be able to legally operate a vehicle even to and from work upon suspension of the license. As with many laws, it may be easy to say that these new laws will affect other people. "Since I am just an occasional occasion-al or social drinker, I don't have to worry." Right? Wrong. On the average, a 160-pound drinker can consume con-sume 2.5 drinks in an hour and reach a blood-alcohol level of at least .05. Those 2.5 drinks could also be twelve-ounce twelve-ounce cans of beer, or shots of 86-proof whiskey, or six-ounce glasses of wine and have the same effect on the body. Thus, regardless of what type of alcoholic beverage bever-age you consume, a couple of drinks will take you very close to the level of criminal conduct should you operate a motor vehicle. The potential of an accident acci-dent notwithstanding, the consequences of these new laws are extremely serious criminally, civilly, and emotionally. emo-tionally. The enforcement of these laws has been mandated man-dated by the state legislature and police agencies statewide, state-wide, and I urge you both as your police chief and as a fellow resident of this community com-munity to take these new laws seriously. If you have questions about the law or wish to have something clarified, please do not hesitate to call me or one of your Park City police officers. of-ficers. These laws are new to us as well, and if no ready answer to your question is available, we will make every effort to research the answer. |