South Carolina police crack down on DUI laws

A bill is currently making it through the South Carolina state government that would hike up the consequences for drivers who are found guilty of drunk driving, which police officers say would help keep the streets safer, CBS affiliate WSPA reports. 

According to the news source, the bill has already passed through the Senate, and if it's made into law, will mandate any drivers convicted of a first-time DUI offense and have a blood alcohol content of .12 to install an ignition interlock device in their automobile. The bill went uncontested in the Senate, winning 41-0. 

Current law only forces drivers to install the device, which keeps a car from turning on unless its driver can blow a blood alcohol level under a specified amount, if it is their second or more DUI offense. Although the legal blood alcohol limit for driving a vehicle is still 0.08, the new law hopes to aggressively target what the bill's language describes as "high-BAC" drivers. 

People from across the state are turning out to show their support for the bill, many of whom have close ties and good reason to support the measure. David and Karen Longstreet, who drove in from Lexington, say they are supporting the bill because they've had a personal experience with a drunk driver. On January 1, 2012, the two and their four children were going to church when a driver, still allegedly drunk from the night before, smashed into them, killing their six-year-old daughter. 

"It's a loss that, you know, you feel like you're living every day in hell, in a sense," David said. "It's a pain that's unimaginable for a parent to have to bury their child."

What's more, the media outlet pointed out, the driver who caused the accident already had one DUI. If South Carolina had had a law in place like the one making its way through state congress right now, the driver would not have been able to operate the vehicle that morning. 

According to the news source, the law states that a first offense for not complying with the law would land the offender in jail for 90 days, and would come with a fine of $500. 

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, about one-third of all drivers who are arrested for or found guilty of drunk driving have been arrested for the same offense a previous time.

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