59% Increase in DUI Arrests

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Mesa County Sheriff Department’s DUI (driving-under-the-influence) arrests are up 59% this year. According to the deputies, they made 61 arrests by June 2008 and already made 103 so far this year.

21^st Judicial District’s chief deputy district attorney, Dan Rubinstein, announced “We are very happy to hear that.” The deputies are being extra vigilant in working checkpoints with Colorado State Patrol troopers and have been watching intoxicated drivers while working their shifts.

Just last year, Rubenstein requested Rep. Steve King (R-Grand Junction) for a bill that would make repeated DUI as a felony. However, he said “It’s very frustrating to see that this bill failed to become a law.”

There have been five cases of alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths recently in Mesa County for this year. “Obviously, we had a number of DUI related deaths, and word has to spread that law enforcement would be getting them here,” Rubenstein added.

Costs of a first-time DUI arrest can go up to $10,000. Heather Benjamin, the spokeswoman for Sheriff Department warned, “It’s just not worth it, so better not do it. If you want to drink, make sure you designate a sober person to drive you home beforehand. Otherwise, take a cab, ride the bus, or walk – just don’t drink and drive.”

Tags: attorney, Dan Rubinstein, dui, Heather Benjamin, Mesa County, Rep. Steve King, Sheriff Department
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DUI Arrests are Repeat Offenders

Friday, May 8th, 2009

A recent study published in Denver Post found that out of the drivers charged with DUI every year in Colorado, 10,000 have already been arrested for the same offense. In fact, from 2005-2007, the unique offenders are just above 31,000. This means that there is roughly one out of three drunk drivers repeating their offense and habitually breaking the law.

Out of the 10,000 drunk drivers, these are also true:

· 5,679 had three prior offenses

· 84 had 10 offenses

· 5 had over 20 offenses

The city of Colorado did some steps to combat this issue. One of them is dropping the DUI threshold from .08 to .10. However, there was little improvement that occurred since 2004.

Now, there are some discussions taking place in the state. Organizations such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) have been lobbying for a change in Colorado’s laws.

Therefore, lawmakers plan to make drunk driving as a felony offense after several occurrences. In other states, this is already being done – sending convicted drunk drivers to jail after a certain number of offenses. However, Colorado has no limit to the DUI charges that you can obtain in your lifetime. The state has attributed this issue to budget problems.

Tags: Colorado, Denver Post, drunk drivers, dui, law, MADD
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