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Article published Feb 17, 2004
Drunken drivers could face tougher penalties
ROBERT W. DALTON
Staff Writer
Time and again during his nearly four years in office, 7th Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy has seen the devastation drunken drivers can cause.Gowdy says it's time for South Carolina to take a more aggressive approach to punishing people who drink and then get behind the wheel. At a news conference Monday, Gowdy proposed implementing a graduated system that considers a driver's level of drunkenness in handing out punishment."Many of the worst drunk-driving cases I've seen involve blood alcohol levels above .15," Gowdy said. "If we want to prevent highway fatalities, we have to have a punishment scheme that takes a person's drunkenness into account."Gowdy's plan doesn't change the penalties for a driver convicted at the lowest blood-alcohol level -- .08 to .12 -- on the first offense, but it stiffens the sentences for subsequent violations. The penalties increase for drivers convicted of driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .13 to .18, and would be most severe for those with a BAC of .19 or higher.The proposal also calls for a mandatory license suspension of one year for anyone who refuses to take a breath, blood or urine test."A person who has had one beer too many should be punished," Gowdy said. "But they shouldn't be punished the same as someone who has had a case of beer too many."There is no sense to having a statute that punishes people the same whether they are a bit tipsy or knee-crawling drunk."Spartanburg County had 22 alcohol-related fatalities in the state in 2003, the second-highest total in the state, according to preliminary figures from the state Department of Public Safety. There were 267 accidents in the county in which alcohol was a contributing factor.Almost 700 people were offered breath tests in the county last year, and nearly a third refused, Gowdy said. Of those tested, more than half registered .15 or higher.David Eagerton, the head of toxicology for the State Law Enforcement Division, said the difference between .08 and .15 is tremendous."At .08 your judgment will be impaired, but most people won't recognize it," Eagerton said. "At .15 or higher, you're clearly intoxicated, and it's obvious to everyone."Neil Thomas, the treasurer of the Spartanburg chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said Gowdy's proposal makes sense. Thomas' son, Gregory, died in 2001 when he was hit by a car while walking along Casey Creek Road.Christopher Horton, who was found guilty of reckless homicide, told law enforcement officers he had smoked marijuana and drunk two beers. His previous arrest record included a charge of driving under the influence."We can't just slap people on the wrist," Thomas said. "I think this would make believers out of first- and second-time offenders."Spartanburg County Sheriff Bill Coffey said harsher penalties have been needed for some time."I've always felt that we're not serious about drunken driving in South Carolina," Coffey said. "People who have a second and third offense rarely go to jail."State Rep. Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg, said he would craft Gowdy's proposal into a bill that he will introduce in the Legislature."It makes sense to me to have a law that correlates the seriousness of the crime and the penalty with the amount of alcohol consumed," Smith said. "I commend Trey for stepping out and addressing this problem."Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7223 or bob.dalton@shj.com.