By Larry Griffin, Smoky Mountain Times
Sylva – Ellen Pitt, leader of the Western North Carolina chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, gathered with numerous sheriffs and law enforcement officials to throw their support behind HB 148, which is one of several bills in the state legislature fighting drunk driving right now, during a press conference April 20 at the Jackson County Courthouse.
The bill is sponsored by state Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Bryson City) and would lower the criminal drunk driving Blood Alcohol Content level to .05 from .08. Jackson County Sheriff Doug Farmer said the bill aims to “save as many lives as we can.”
“The reason for the bill is to save lives,” Farmer said. “That’s what law enforcement is all about.”
Pitt spoke at length about the bill, referencing Utah making the BAC limit lower and penalizing drunk driving further. She said there has been “spectacular, life-saving results” from these policies.
Referencing a CDC study, Pitt said around 1,750 lives could be saved per year if every state adopted the .05 limit. She added that there haven’t been any large spikes in DWIs from enforcing such rules in Utah, no additional training needed, and tourism and alcohol purchasing trends were still up even with the new rules.
“Naysayers will tell you, ‘Oh, tourism will go down, the bars will have to shut down, the tax dollars from alcohol will disappear,’ ” she said. “None of that happened in Utah. This bill is for crime victims and to help officers to do their jobs.”
She said after the press conference that while lower BAC levels aren’t always dangerous, peoples’ judgment and perception get impaired fairly quickly anyway. And while that’s all right for a barbecue at one’s own house with friends, driving can quickly become unsafe.
“If someone has a .05, they can’t track moving objects the same,” Pitt said. “Their judgment is altered. They’re a little too relaxed. Would you want someone like that flying a plane, baby-sitting your children, being your doctor?”
In addition, Lt. David Williams with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office rattled off a list of other bills that are along the same lines of trying to combat drunk driving, which the coalition also stands behind:
- HB 85 would allow North Carolina to join other states and allow deputies to use more evidence in probable cause hearings, which they hope will result in more DWI convictions, as many are lost in those hearings.
- HB 147 would make it so those who are charged with DWI will be able to lose their licenses in the same manner as those who get charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
- HB 211 would cut out some of the mitigating factors judges have to consider when sentencing DWI cases. Prosecutors would not have to consider “slight impairment” from alcohol in which the driver had a .09 BAC or less, or slight impairment in cases where no chemical analysis was done.
- HB 212 would let drivers get their licenses restored more easily if they’ve completed the requisite programs and have stayed out of trouble.