Josh Falcone – General Assignment Reporter
“I’m fine man, I’m fine, I just have a little buzz, I can drive.”
Everyone knows this person, or maybe they are this person. Drinking and driving isn’t a joke, yet many treat it as one. In turn they put themselves and more importantly others in peril because they don’t know when to quit drinking or how to pass the keys off if they don’t want to quit.
This Thanksgiving, I give thanks for the strict drinking and driving laws the fair state of Connecticut has in place to prevent dinguses like the ‘I’m fine guy’ from endangering the lives of every other person out on the road.
I’m thankful this year for the fact that those caught drinking and driving are punished harshly by the court system. A first time DUI/DWI conviction nets the offender a mandatory 45-day license suspension from the Department of Motor Vehicles, and once the offender has the license reinstated they can look forward to having their vehicle equipped with an ignition inter-locking device that they now have to blow in to start their vehicle and also randomly while they are driving. If the driver blows into the device and has a blood alcohol level higher than .25 percent, the vehicle will not start or if already started, it will turn off. The device is required to be equipped for one year. In addition to the ignition interlock device, first time offenders face a fine between $500 and $1,000. They will also be sentenced to either up to six months with a mandatory two days served in prison, or six months suspended with probation along with 100 hours of community service.
A second time offender is hit with a 45-day license suspension, and following that, a three-year period of only being able to drive a vehicle with the ignition interlock device. For the first year, the offender will only be allowed to drive to and from work, school, an alcohol or drug abuse treatment center, or an ignition interlock service center. A second DUI offender will also have to pay a fine ranging from $1,000 to $4,000. The second time offender will also be facing up to two years in prison with a mandatory minimum 120 consecutive days served followed by probation with 100 hours of community service.
If someone is convicted for a third DUI, they also will see their license revoked. After a two-year period they may seek reinstatement. If their license is reinstated, the offender may only drive a vehicle equipped with the ignition interlock device for the remainder of the time they drive.
I’m thankful this year that I have never lost someone I care about to a drinking and driving accident, and I’m hopeful I never will due to the laws enforced by the state of Connecticut. But unfortunately many have lost someone close to them to a drinking and driving accident. Just a couple of weeks ago, there was a national news story detailing a crash in Washington state. On Halloween night, twin sisters Janeah and Janesah Goheen where hit head on by a drunk driver while on their way to a party. Janeah died instantly in the crash, Janesah who was driving, fought for 11 days, before succumbing to her injuries last week. Gone one month before their 18thbirthdays.
Just last year in my hometown, a guy I worked with went out with a couple of his friends, hit the bars, got gooned, and then drove head on into a tree, killing one of his friends, and mangling another. Now I know this guy will have to live with the fact that he took someone’s life, his friends and family have to live the rest of their lives knowing their loved one is never going to be coming home again.
So when everyone is celebrating this holiday season, if you are getting behind the wheel, don’t go hard. If you go hard, don’t drive; call a cab, a sober friend, or a parent. There is no reason to put anyone else’s or your future in peril by getting behind the wheel while impaired.
