Guest Column: For first-time DUI offenders, punishment should deter

Attorneys will tell you that the most common response to any legal question is: “it depends.” That answer could not be more fitting to answer the question posed by the Badger Club – how to deal with first time DUI offenders in Washington State. Do we treat it as a one-off mistake, as long as no one was hurt? Or do we acknowledge the statistics and stories that tell us that drunk driving even once can end lives and ruin families and therefore we should crucify the offender?

Alcohol impairs the ability to operate a motor vehicle because it is a central nervous system depressant – it slows down our brain, our reflexes, our thoughts, and reaction time. The more alcohol swimming around our brains and blood, the worse our reaction time, our vision, and our ability to multi-task, all of which are required to drive safely. Physiologically, scientists agree that all human bodies – regardless of gender, size, or tolerance – are affected by alcohol at the .08% level to the point that it is not safe to drive.

But if no one was hurt, then why do we still punish DUI offenders? Because nationwide, in 2013, over 10,000 people died from drunk and impaired driving at a cost of $132 billion dollars to US taxpayers. In 2014, drunk driving was the cause of 149 deaths in the State of Washington, representing 34.2% of all traffic deaths, up 4.2% from the prior year, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. In Benton and Franklin counties there were a combined 15 DUI fatalities and 59 “serious injury crashes” in 2014 according to the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission. Drunk driving costs Washington taxpayers $819 million annually (MADD). Clearly, the deterrent factor of punishing all DUIs, not just those with injuries or fatalities, is in the public interest.

For drivers caught by law enforcement and found to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the punishment varies fairly widely in Washington.

Jail time and fines range from a minimum of one day in jail and $698 fine up to the statutory maximum of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine, although realistically for a first time offender the mandatory minimum one day in jail will be imposed.

Jail time, fines and incidental costs, and the social stigma of being a DUI offender with a “blow and go” in his car are meant to be deterrents to the scourge that is impaired driving. For most offenders, it works. The punishment should always fit the crime, and in the case of DUI, the punishment will hopefully make someone think twice before drinking and driving again and putting himself and others at grave risk.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Guest Column: For first-time DUI offenders, punishment should deter."