One Western U.S state is warning DUI offenders that there will be no more warnings on the road, just stricter fines. The time for being nice has come to an end, as DUI laws have been updated in the state with stricter penalties in the pipeline, along with reduced alcohol thresholds. The law will come into effect immediately and signifies the trend throughout the state to make drivers more accountable for their actions on the road. Safety is becoming a key concern in this Western state.
Increased jail time to be enforced with lower alcohol limitations
As per previous regulations, all individuals who were convicted of a second DUI offense within seven years faced a sentence of 10 to 180 days of jail time. According to Section 12 of the newer legislation, the jail time is being increased to 20 days at a minimum.
Judicial discretion under the new law will be seen in isolation from impaired driving. This preventative measure seems to be sending a message that repeated offenses should not occur in this state. While Section 12 is stricter, Section 11 also proposes new rules regarding blood alcohol concentration whereby a reduction from 0,18 to 0,16 is in place. Drivers will have to face an alcohol assessment prior to sentencing.
Third-time offenders may need to attend treatment programs
Law enforcement is getting stricter and also promotes treatment programs for all third-time offenders. Initially, all drivers who applied for a treatment program were barred from applying again, even if they did not complete the program. Section 10 reworks the rules and disqualifies offenders when they have previously been ordered to complete such a program. Yet again, this adjustment looks at ensuring offenders take accountability and that they seek treatment when needed.
The mere fact that an offender has participated in treatment before will be counted as an offense, and all offenders who commit further offenses while undergoing treatment will legally qualify as a repeat offenders so as to ensure that rehabilitation efforts do not go in vain.
Reestablishing offenses and seeing how they fit in
According to Section 12, a definition is clarified as to what can be seen as a prior DUI offense. All offenses that may have been dismissed will now be taken into consideration when calculating first, second, and third offenses. Section 13 further expands the felony to include penalties for drivers who were enrolled in a treatment program for a third DUI. In this way, drivers have to take full accountability for their actions and avoid unsafe road behavior. Increasing drivers’ penalties and enforcing jail time of over 60 days in some states is a sure way to ensure that legislation does not get ignored and that drivers do not repeat offenses.
Nevada is implementing rules in favor of road safety
According to the Nevada Senate Bill 309, Nevada is attempting to combat bad driving. The new law works by favoring treatment and rehab. While working to get more DUI repeat offenders into rehab, the new law is also making life more difficult for repeat offenders in the state, placing longer jail time on the cards for offenders.
Transgressions of laws have been defined specifically and a lower threshold has been set for blood alcohol concentration. Senate Bill 309 is looking at curbing one of the biggest problems of road deaths in the U.S., which is that of impaired driving. This Western state seeks to identify offenders and early offenders and then employs immediate intervention to ensure safer roads are created for all. The DUI fines are not the only penalty that Nevada has increased this year. October will see that drivers get fined up to $1,000 for reckless driving and up to $750 for negligent driving. Nevada is slamming drivers with fines for various actions as per the zero-tolerance approach of the state.
