Drunken driving law weak

Stay off the roads this holiday weekend. Habitual alcohol/drug-impaired drivers that are always a risk will be out celebrating 2011. The reality is bars and restaurants survive due to alcoholic beverage sales. If you think they care about overserving customers, forget it. They’ll move the liquor without any concern for you or your family’s safety.

Washington’s felony DUI law allows career drunk drivers five opportunities to kill people, and it never should have been enacted. It requires four prior misdemeanor DUI convictions before the fifth can be charged as a felony, with actual prison time required upon conviction. Idaho allows the third DUI to be charged as a felony, giving prosecutors the ability to get dangerous drivers off the road earlier. Repeat DUI drivers who’ll never change should be locked up in prison, not local jail, before they kill innocent people.

You can help your loved ones by contacting Gov. Chris Gregoire, your state legislators, Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Tucker (who actually was a good state trooper years ago), Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and Spokane police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick to demand Washington’s felony DUI law be toughened up like Idaho’s. This ineffective law is not protecting the public.

Jim Reierson

Spokane