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Alabama has not enacted this into law. However, this state has adopted every other alcohol-related safety measure proposed by the Feds. This is due to highway funding that is tied to the passage of the laws. Most likely by the end of this decade .05% will be the presumptive level, not .08% I believe that by 2020 a person will be presumed to be intoxicated at this level.
Not only will the levels change but the punishment for conviction of DUIs will change. An interlock (or similar device) will be required on every conviction. Currently, Alabama does not order ignition interlock for the first offense, except for test refusal and two other limited circumstances. Today our technology has a transdermal sensors that can be placed in the steering wheel. This will replace the ‘blow into the tube’ device. A Congressional mandate is all that is needed to require the production of this transdermal interlock devise in all newly manufactured vehicles.
It is now possible to make sure that the state is aware if a person has had a drink. Many times a person who is placed on probation is told to refrain from the consumption of alcohol. There are currently devices being manufactured that will clip onto a belt. This device contains a transdermal detection, a GPS locator, and a Wi-Fi signal. This device would read the skin and if the reading exceeds .02% notify a central computer using the Wi-Fi. Then the GPS unit would tract and locate the person having the drink.
Rebecca Green Thomason – Attorney at Law
You have seen the signs, “Buzzed driving is drunk driving.” To be convicted in this state for DUI based on blood alcohol the test needs to reflect a level of .08% . On Wednesday May 15th CNN did a story about DUI’s. The story stated, “The National Transportation Safety Board recommended on Tuesday that all 50 states adopt a blood-alcohol content (BAC) cutoff of 0.05 compared to the 0.08 standard on the books today and used by law enforcement and the courts to prosecute drunk driving.”
Alabama has not enacted this into law. However, this state has adopted every other alcohol-related safety measure proposed by the Feds. This is due to highway funding that is tied to the passage of the laws. Most likely by the end of this decade .05% will be the presumptive level, not .08% I believe that by 2020 a person will be presumed to be intoxicated at this level.
Not only will the levels change but the punishment for conviction of DUIs will change. An interlock (or similar device) will be required on every conviction. Currently, Alabama does not order ignition interlock for the first offense, except for test refusal and two other limited circumstances. Today our technology has a transdermal sensors that can be placed in the steering wheel. This will replace the ‘blow into the tube’ device. A Congressional mandate is all that is needed to require the production of this transdermal interlock devise in all newly manufactured vehicles. Driver license sanctions will be more severe. In Alabama there was a bill that did not pass this legislative session that would require a five day jail sentence on a second conviction and a thirty day sentence on a third conviction of driving while your license is suspended or revoked.
There may be an immediate confiscation of driver license upon arrest. Tied to that will be mandatory impoundment of the motor vehicle with a 30 day window for the local district attorney to file a civil forfeiture action. This would be similar to the confiscation of vehicles during drug arrest. Driving while buzzed could cause you to lose your car to the highest bidder at a police auction. Vehicle confiscation for a second offense DUI is already used in other states.
It is now possible to make sure that the state is aware if a person has had a drink. Many times a person who is placed on probation is told to refrain from the consumption of alcohol. There are currently devices being manufactured that will clip onto a belt. This device contains a transdermal detection, a GPS locator, and a Wi-Fi signal. This device would read the skin and if the reading exceeds .02% notify a central computer using the Wi-Fi. Then the GPS unit would tract and locate the person having the drink. Because of the ‘Don’t drink and drive’ campaign and the money spent on the enforcement of DUI laws, the number of DUI violations per year is dramatically less than it was thirty years ago.
