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Locke Backs Tougher Dui Laws Seeks .08 Blood-Alcohol Level, Automatic 90-Day Suspension

Hal Spencer Associated Press

Gov. Gary Locke joined a growing bipartisan drive on Thursday to get more drunken drivers off the roads and to keep them off by taking away their cars.

Flanked by a huge pie chart showing that alcohol plays a role in 46 percent of Washington traffic deaths, Locke said he would ask the 1998 Legislature to lower the state’s legal blood-alcohol level to .08 percent, down from .10 percent.

With safety experts and police by his side, the governor also said he would propose an automatic 90-day suspension of driver’s licenses without waiting for a conviction, a 15-day impoundment of vehicles for first drunken driving arrests, and forfeiture of vehicles for second convictions.

Locke’s proposal also would force local governments to prosecute repeat offenders rather than deferring action, and require that all convictions stay on a driver’s record forever.

The governor said he would seek legislative approval to guarantee local governments a total of $16 million a year to help pay for an increased caseload of drunken driving cases.

“It’s a horrible tragedy that 331 people died in our state last year because of drunk drivers,” said Locke.

All of Locke’s package and then some was contained in a proposal last week unveiled by Republican Senate Law and Justice Chairwoman Pam Roach, R-Auburn. House Republican leaders are expected to release a similar proposal soon.

The state has had the .10 limit since 1968 despite several legislative attempts to lower it.

Data from some of the 17 states that have lowered the .10 limit to .08 show a 12 percent to 18 percent reduction in fatal accidents linked to alcohol, he said.

The governor said experience in other states also shows that the costs to local governments from the lower limit are not burdensome.

Local government support is crucial to passage, and Locke said they will not be left with a huge new financial obligation and no way to pay for it.

Locke’s drunken driving plan was part of a $46 million package of proposals he called his Community Protection Initiative.

It also included: Increased community protection relating to group homes, juvenile offenders and sex offenders. Among other things, the package would beef up security at juvenile group homes and expand the capacity of the state’s special lockup for chronic and violent sex offenders.

A crackdown on methamphetamine manufacturing. The governor would create a strike force in the Washington State Patrol to go after meth labs, and would increase sentences for convicted meth makers. Repeat offenders could be sentenced for up to 20 years.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT HE SAID Here are highlights of Gov. Gary Locke’s proposal to clamp down on drunken drivers. Lower the state’s legal bloodalcohol level to .08 percent, down from .10 percent. Authorize an automatic 90-day suspension of driver’s licenses without waiting for a conviction. Allow a 15-day impoundment of vehicles for first drunken driving arrests, and forfeiture of vehicles for second convictions.

This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT HE SAID Here are highlights of Gov. Gary Locke’s proposal to clamp down on drunken drivers. Lower the state’s legal bloodalcohol level to .08 percent, down from .10 percent. Authorize an automatic 90-day suspension of driver’s licenses without waiting for a conviction. Allow a 15-day impoundment of vehicles for first drunken driving arrests, and forfeiture of vehicles for second convictions.