Jim Doyle, Governor of Wisconsin apparently wants to toughen Wisconsin’s drunk driving laws. In his own words he says he wants to sign a “good, strong bill” toughening drunken driving laws in Wisconsin.
A DUI bill passed in the state last week that makes a 4th DUI a penalty instead of the 5th offense, but Governor Doyle says he would like to see a third offense be a felony. He says he supports making it a crime if there’s children in the vehicle, while the recently signed bill supports just that.
Doyle says it’s clear that there’s “still a long way to go” to toughen the Wisconsin DUI laws.
Currently, Wisconsin is the only state where a first time DUI offense is not a crime. A first time Wisconsin DUI is legally the same as a traffic ticket, but this new bill makes the first offense a misdemeanor if a child under the age of 16 is in the car.
The aim in all these drunk driving laws is to prevent injury and death from drunk driving accidents. Last year alcohol-related crashes killed 234 and injured more than 4,000 people in Wisconsin alone.
If you have been accused of your 4th Wisconsin DUI, it may be time to contact a drunk driving attorney for a free consultation. It is here you can talk about the specifics of your case and how you can avoid a felony DUI conviction.
2 responses so far ↓
1 joe // Sep 28, 2009 at 5:20 am
It’s about time Wisconsin did something about their drunk driving laws, but the governor is right they still aren’t good enough. A first time DUI shouldn’t be taken this lightly.
Joe
2 Liquor Tax Paying for Wis. DUI Laws - Wisconsin Tax Law | Tax Law Blog | IRS Tax Attorneys // Oct 7, 2009 at 9:24 pm
[...] tab of more than 70 million a year is what it will cost to enforce tougher Wisconsin drunk driving laws, some five time more than originally thought. Some lawmakers are pushing a higher liquor tax to pay [...]
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