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A tougher DUI law goes into effect Monday. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol launched a public service campaign to tell people about it.

Anyone with a onetime DUI, who blows a .15, must have an interlock device in their car for 18 months. For a second offense, if they just blow the legal limit of .08, they’ll have to have the device for four years.

Legislators hope it’s a costly and inconvenient deterrent.

“You have to blow into it to start the car and periodically while you’re driving, you still have to blow in it to prove you’re not drinking while driving,” said Officer Craig Murray, Tulsa Police Department.

Offenders must pay for the device, not taxpayers. The CDC says interlocks have decreased repeat drunk driving offenses by nearly 70 percent.

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The Oklahoma Senate has passed a law to ensure harsher penalties for individuals caught driving under the influence of alcohol.

The Erin Swezey Law, which was passed on May 26, requires first-time offenders caught driving under the influence to have an ignition interlock device installed in their car for 18 months, according to the Erin Swezey Act website. On the second offense, the interlock device would remain in the offender’s car for four years, and subsequent offenses require the use of the interlock for five years, according to the Swezey website.

The ignition interlock system prevents the car from operating if a person’s breath alcohol content is more than a preset limit, as measured by a handheld alcohol sensor in the car.

The previous punishment for driving under the influence did not include ignition interlock devices, according to the Oklahoma Department of Motor Vehicles’ website. Former punishments included varying degrees of fines and jail time, according to the DMV website.

Oklahoma needs stricter DUI laws for the sake of victims of drunk driving, Oklahoma State Senator Clark Jolley, the primary author of the bill, said.

“Hundreds of Oklahomans needlessly lose their life every year because someone makes a bad decision to drink and drive,” Jolley said in an email. “By requiring someone who has already been convicted of drunk driving to not legally be able to drive a vehicle without an ignition interlock device, hopefully the numbers of people who die needlessly every year will plummet.”
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First-time driving under the influence offenders would be required to have an interlocking ignition device installed on their car for two years under a bill approved Tuesday by the Senate.

The device is now required only after a second offense. It measures for blood alcohol content by requiring drivers to blow into it before their car can be started.

Senate Bill 529 would also require first-time DUI offenders to have the phrase “interlock required” placed on their driver’s licenses.

“We’re trying to keep drunk drivers off the road,” said Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, the bill’s author.

The offender would not be allowed to drive vehicles without the interlock device installed. The offender would have to pay for installing the device.

Jolley said putting the “interlock required” wording on driver’s licenses will help law enforcement and businesses know whether someone is allowed to drive a car without an interlocking ignition device.
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Wide receiver for Oklahoma State Cowboys, Justin Blackmon was arrested for driving under the influence on Mon. October 25. The football star was travelling from Texas to Oklahoma with three friends. The group had just attended a Dallas Cowboys Monday Night Football Game in Arlington TX. They were travelling at a speed of 90mph in a 60mph zone. Although, the Heismen candidate wasn’t driving, he was arrested because Texas law states anyone under the age of 21 caught intoxicated while in a vehicle can be charged with a DUI. His friend former Oklahoma state player Dez Bryant was driving the vehicle but was not arrested. The NCAA is likely to discipline the player which will have negative affects to both the team and Blackmon.

Football season is a time for tailgate and house parties centered around one of the favored sports in the US.  Many bars have football nights and feature multiple TV’s to show a variety of games. The wide variety of games appeals to more people therefore increasing the bars revenue.  During the football season millions of viewers tune in for pro and college games. The demographic varies but on average the viewers are younger than most other spectator sports. Because the viewership or football attracts younger individuals there is a high chance that some of the football fans will get behind the wheel of a car and drive. Anytime you drive after drinking you risk your freedom.

Every state has different laws regarding intoxicated driving and a DUI lawyer can help you understand the variances. Should a person in throws of game excitement use poor judgment and drive their vehicle they will need to seek out a DUI lawyer. The laws are tough on people who get a DUI. A DUI lawyer can aid in reducing a tough penalty.

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Rep. Harold Wright is proposing change to Oklahoma’s drunk driving laws.

“The bottom line is we need to crack down on long-term, repeat offenders who are out there and could hurt someone else,” said Wright, R-Weatherford. “By making some simple, common-sense changes to Oklahoma law, we could save lives in the future.”

He says it starts with cracking down on long-term, repeat offenders whom, because of legal loopholes, are allowed to stay on the roads much longer.

Rep. Wright wants to see these numbers go down across the state by modifying the current DUI laws, which he says, are in need of change.

“If someone is caught with a DUI and their sentence is deferred, then once that sentence is deferred and they get past that point, they basically cannot be charged with a felony charge,” said Wright.

He wants to make it possible for a prosecutor to charge that person with a felony even if it’s their second offense.

Another problem, Jenkins says, is with sentencing repeat DUI offenders.
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A new statute that boosts penalties for drunken drivers will fix a “gaping loophole” in Oklahoma law and make roads safer for children, authorities said Thursday.

Senate Bill 1138 allows prosecutors to file felony child-endangerment charges against intoxicated motorists who have children in their vehicles.

Police, prosecutors and the local branch of Mothers Against Drunk Driving lauded the bill during a mid-afternoon news conference at the 41st Street Plaza on Riverside Drive. Efforts to bolster the Oklahoma alcohol-related laws were made for years.

The measure also adds penalties for parents who let their children ride with drunken drivers and allows minors to be taken into protective custody when a parent is arrested for drunken driving.

Plans to cope with the influx have been made, and emergency shelters will put a priority on returning children to other family members before sending them to the Department of Human Services, he said.

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If you’ve been arrested for DUI, Oklahoma APC, DWI or other alcohol related offense in Oklahoma, you have only 15 DAYS from the date of arrest to request a hearing with the Department of Public Safety. Retaining a DUI attorney will dramatically increase the chances of saving your license.

Oklahoma DUI arrests trigger two separate cases: First, there is the Oklahoma DUI criminal case, where a variety of criminal punishments can be imposed by the court. These DUI punishments may include fines, jail, mandatory alcohol education, ignition interlock devices ordered, and more. However, every Oklahoma DUI arrest also gives rise to a separate civil action against that person’s Oklahoma driving privileges.

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) is trying to take away your driver’s license. Oklahoma DUI cases therefore have two separate components, and each must be addressed separately.

There are three basic alcohol related offenses:

Under the first theory of Oklahoma DUI prosecution, the focus is on the condition of the driver, and whether or not they are able to drive with the caution characteristic of a sober person. Under the second theory of Oklahoma DUI prosecution, the focus is not on the driver, but only on the driver’s body chemistry.

Oklahoma DUI charges may be filed on either of two theories. First, Oklahoma DUI will be filed if someone is driving while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. The consideration of whether or not someone is “under the influence” for purposes of Oklahoma DUI laws relates to whether or not the person’s driving abilities have been legally impaired by the consumption of alcohol and/or drugs.

Oklahoma DUI charges can be brought against someone based purely on body chemistry, no matter how well they are driving. Oklahoma, like many other states, has a “per se” law, which means that it is a violation of Oklahoma DUI law to drive with a blood or breath alcohol level of .08% BAC or more.

Oklahoma DUI punishment and penalties for a first-offense DUI can include a fine, a jail sentence that can reach up to one year, the possibility of mandatory in patient treatment (if the breath test is .15% BAC or higher), 480 hours of community service, and ignition interlock on all vehicles.

Oklahoma DUI punishment for people with prior drunk driving convictions will increase substantially, both in terms of the court case and the driver’s license consequences from the DPS. It is not unheard of for Oklahoma DUI convictions to include fines of up to $5,000.00 and jail terms of up to 10 years, plus all of the other Oklahoma DUI consequences outlined above. It is possible to suffer a vehicle forfeiture because of an Oklahoma DUI conviction.

Getting a designated driver is always the best idea. However for the best Oklahoma DUI Lawyers visit the Oklahoma DUI Law Directory.
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