Although many people who are convicted of driving under the influence never make the mistake of driving drunk again, there are plenty of drivers who have an addiction that causes them to repeat the offense over and over, even if they've been arrested several times. Many of these drivers assume that if they're able to drive drunk the first time, they can continue the habit indefinitely. But that assumption puts everyone at great risk.
A 53-year-old Astoria, Oregon, man discovered this last year when he was arrested twice on suspicion of drunk driving. He was pulled over in April and September 2011, both times telling police he wasn't drunk -- despite registering a .2 blood alcohol level during the second arrest. Fortunately, no one was hurt in either incident. Both arrests were the result of witness reports to police.
The man pleaded guilty to two counts of felony DUII for the two arrests. A closer look at his criminal record revealed 10 drunk-driving arrests since 1988, spanning three states. Given these past offenses and the fact that he continued to drive drunk, the man was sentenced to five years in prison. Clatsop County's deputy district attorney called the man's record the most egregious and persistent case of felony DUII he'd ever seen. He said it was "absolutely surprising" the man had never hurt or killed someone.
Oregon has made attempts to strengthen the sentencing guidelines for repeat DUII offenders in recent years. In 2010 voters passed Measure 73, which makes someone eligible for felony charges after the second DUII arrest in 10 years. Prison time for the third offense is fairly rare, and being charged with two felonies in one year as this man was is even more uncommon.
But the actual charges multiple offenders could face may not be as significant as the problem behind the offense. Habitual drunk driving is extremely dangerous; it's only a matter of time before the drunk driver hurts or kills someone else, if not himself. Whether or not you've been arrested multiple times for driving drunk, your best course of action is to seek alcohol treatment to keep yourself and others out of danger and break the cycle once and for all.
Source: The Daily Astorian, "Man gets five years for multiple DUIIs," Tyler Graf, May 23, 2012
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