CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Those with Mothers Against Drunk Driving are urging state lawmakers to vote “no” to a bill that would change the way people charged with DUI are reprimanded.
SB 212 would eliminate the Office of Administrative Hearings under the state Department of Transportation, which handles driver’s license suspensions and revocations. The bill says those decisions would be handled through the court system instead.
“If we eliminate that and it goes straight to the magistrates, we’re missing an opportunity to keep our roads safe and to save lives,” said Colleen Sheehey-Church, national president of MADD.
Sheehey-Church was joined by West Virginia police officers and doctors at the State Capitol Wednesday to rise in opposition to the bill and to announce the findings of a state-by-state report.
The reports shows West Virginia leads the nation in reducing drunk driving deaths since enacting its Administrative License Revocation law in 2008.
“We really hold West Virginia up as one of the greatest models across the country because they have reduced fatalities by 50 percent,” Sheehey-Church said.
The current law, which includes the implementation of ignition interlocks in vehicles, has helped decrease alcohol-related deaths, according to the report. An ignition interlock device, or a breathalyzer, is attached to a person’s vehicle. It requires the driver to blow into a mouthpiece on the device before starting the vehicle. If the device detects a high blood alcohol level, the vehicle won’t start.
Since 2006, ignition interlocks have stopped 24,331 drunk drivers in West Virginia. From 2015-2016, those devices stopped 2,730 people.
Cpl. Travis Hagan with the Huntington Police Department said the device holds drivers accountable.
“We’re bringing consequences to these people and we’re changing that behavior to kind of correct it back to make them more responsible citizens,” Hagan said.
Dr. Dustin Petersen, assistant professor of the Division of Trauma and Surgical Care at West Virginia University, said a lot of his patients that were treated for motor vehicle wrecks were alcohol related.
“Last year, based on our trauma registry numbers, there were 1,593 patients injured in motor vehicle crashes,” he said. “Approximately 21 percent of those patients that we treated that were injured in a motor vehicle crash tested positive for alcohol in the hospital.”
About 240 alcohol-related fatal car crashes were reported in West Virginia when the program began in 2008. That number decreased to 65 in 2016.
“In the numbers alone, we’re seeing a huge decrease in the amount of fatal crashes involving alcohol in our state, so to me, that program is obviously working,” said Joey Koher, Huntington Police Officer and West Virginia Drug Recognition Expert State Coordinator.
Opponents of the bill say closing the OAH means a layer of protection would be lost for motorists. Supporters say eliminating the office would save the state nearly $3 million annually.
The bill has already passed the Senate. A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday in the House Judiciary Committee.
The 2017 Regular Legislative Session ends Saturday, April 8.