Lawmakers push 3-prong attack on DUI

Utah lawmakers continued their part in the fight against drunken driving this session, advancing three pieces of legislation to better treat, sentence and arrest those who drink and drive.

"I am very pleased that Utah continues to be on the forefront of DUI legislation," said Teri Pectol, program manager of the Utah Highway Safety Office. "We continue to be leaders in the nation, in our commitment to ensure the safety of all of the citizens in Utah. We will continue to work on prevention, intervention and education in the efforts regarding DUI enforcement."

Late Wednesday, lawmakers also were poised to adopt HB128, a much massaged bill sponsored by Rep. Dana Love meant to protect children whose parents drink and drive. The bill says anyone with a previous DUI conviction can't drive with a blood alcohol level higher than 0.05 percent if there are minors in the car.

"The great thing about this bill was that it highlights the issue of child endangerment and DUI," said Art Brown, president of the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. "The focus changed a little to focus not so much on the blood alcohol level but on child endangerment."

In the session's early days, Love, R-Syracuse, first wanted a driver to be arrested for DUI if he had even one drink's worth of alcohol in his system. But after protests from some lawmakers and prosecutors, the bill was amended to allow a legal limit of 0.05 percent blood alcohol for drivers toting children under age 18.

Utah is the first state to lower the state's drinking limit for repeat offenders who have children in their car.

Lawmakers passed a bill by Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Salt Lake City, that addressed the prickly issue of the plea in abeyance for DUI offenders, reaching a compromise between prosecutors and lawmakers who want to make sure offenders are properly punished.

Walker's SB20 includes a number of safeguards to ensure DUI offenders will suffer the consequences if they fall off the wagon after the plea in abeyance treatment program.

Under the bill, all DUIs stay on the record, and some with aggravated circumstances can't be pleaded at all. Offenders with a prior plea in abeyance, high blood alcohol levels or with passengers in their car under age 18, for example, would not be entitled to a plea.