From AP RALEIGH, N.C. – Repeat drunken-drivers in North Carolina who get their license revoked could get their permit back after a clean criminal and traffic record for 10 years in legislation approved by the Senate.
The measure approved Wednesday would allow a person convicted of habitual impaired driving to ask the Division of Motor Vehicles to get reinstated. Motorists who obtain their license again can’t have alcohol in their blood while driving for the next seven years.
Sen. Dan Blue of Wake County said motorists whose licenses are revoked for other reasons already have processes to get them restored. But Sen. Tony Rand of Cumberland County said it’s not right to give these offenders another chance.
The bill was approved 25-20 and now returns to the House.
July 9th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
My nephew(now 21) has been getting in trouble since he was 16. He has had a couple of DWI’s, been put on probation several times for different crimes (drugs, assault, driving with license revoked…) All of these took place while he was on probation, but the courts still let him go. Even though he’s my nephew, I feel he should have been more severely punished to begin with. I’m afraid he will continue a life a crime, and start committing more serious crimes. I feel if the court had been tougher on him several years ago, maybe he would have been “scared straight”. I believe that he thinks he can get away with anything, and he get off with an easy sentence, so he continues to break laws.
August 19th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
The punishment needs to fit the crime. You have they system processing people that are stopped more than once as if they have been in an accident and killed somebody. There are more people killed by the flu than by DWI yet this is the only law in NC that you cannot “plea down”. Is it any wonder that the founder of MADD has quit her position because of the extreme-ism that is going on and none of our political leaders will stand up to them. Somebody on manslaughter charges can get their license back and someone who blew a .08 on a second DWI can spend up to 4 years in jail and loose their license for a year and not have an option to plea down even if there were no injuries. In this case it is guilty until proven innocent.