It’s never a good time to drink and drive, but this week Governor Nixon is visiting four cities to sign a bill that makes Missouri DWI laws tougher on anyone caught drinking and driving. Even though common sense tells us all that drinking and driving is a bad idea, many people still do it with devastating consequences. In 2009, 268 people were killed in Missouri and 1,134 seriously injured in crashes involving an impaired driver. I’m sure all those impaired drivers probably thought they were fine to drive. Maybe some of them had only had a drink or two – but that’s the thing, we never know how much is too much or what kind of deadly consequences our actions will have on ourselves or someone else.
House Bill 1695 is designed to change Missouri laws regarding driving while intoxicated. The 16 provisions increase penalties for all levels of drivers under the influence including first time offenders to drivers with multiple DWI infractions.
Although there are many parts of the lengthy bill, the biggest change means that drivers getting pulled over for driving while intoxicated, even for their first offense, will now face jail time. And if you’re a repeat offender and get a third DWI charge, you will go to jail for 30 days instead of 10. It also makes it a class A misdemeanor to refuse to take a blood alcohol content test. All changes begin August 28.
Now more than ever in Missouri, You Drink and Drive. You Lose. To learn more about impaired driving and how you can Arrive Alive, visit http://www.savemolives.com/.
