California continues to pass more bills related to alcohol regulation and dwi legislation among them, a bill that would permit the seizure of vehicles operated by drunken drivers in certain cases where the convicted defendant demonstrates a history or persistent drunken driving. California also closed a loop hold in the ignition interlock enforcement. This law would ensure that the drunken driver would complete all requirements of their probation before the ignition interlock was removed from their vehicle.

Drunken drivers have slipped through the cracks in this area. New York State has passed a similar bill, where this problem has been evident for some time. This bill was the only anti-dwi bill that passed this year. Why was California able to pass 13 anti-dwi bills while New York only managed one? This disparity could be attributed to the that fact in California Democrats have majorities inboth the senate and assembly. New York’s democratic assembly passes many anti-dwi  bills only to have them blocked by the majority Republican senate.

Kentucky and Tennessee passed a total of 9 anti-dwi bills this past year.

.                               Meredith Smith holding her niece, Melohdi

Meredith Smith (March 23rd 1995 – July 27th 2012)

Meredith Smith was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. . She was a shining star in our family, and in our community. She excelled in academics with a 4.49 GPA, she was an amazing athlete and made the varsity cheer squad at Flagler Palm Coast High School her freshmen year. She would have been one of the first four year varsity cheerleaders at FPC if she wasn’t involved in the accident.

Not only was Meredith an astounding scholar athlete, she also had a strong presence in the community volunteering for Flagler Beach’s Junior Lifeguard program and working as a server at Steak n’ Shake. Where ever she was, or what ever she was doing, she always gave 150% and her joyful presence was felt by all.

The loss of Meredith was not only hard for my family, but for our community as well. She would still be here today if it hadn’t been for a careless driver operating his motor vehicle under the influence of narcotics. We lost her on July 27th, 2012, a day that many will remember for ever as one of the worst days of their lives.
– Zach Smith, Brother of Meredith

Memorial for
Laurie Lee Tavares
(August 6,1975-November 27,2003)

Laurie Lee Tavares was born on August 6,1975 in New Bedford Ma., to her parents Eufrosina and John Tavares. She was there first born. Laurie’s parents migrated to America from Portugal in 1973. She was raised in a strong Portuguese household.

Laurie had a passion for singing and dancing which started in her early childhood years. This artistic side of her blossomed more with each passing year. She attended Greater New Bedford Vocational High School, where she majored in Painting and Decorating and graduated in 1994.

She was enrolled at Lasell College majoring in fashion and had dreams of becoming a fashion buyer. She maintained a consistent grade point average of 3.9, and was to graduate in May of 2004.Laurie never got the chance to walk the stage to accept her well deserved Bachelor of Science diploma.

On November 27th of 2003, Thanksgiving Day, Laurie spent the day cooking and celebrating with her family .Right after her families tradition of putting up the Christmas tree, Laurie left to celebrate with her boyfriend, Jared. She never made it back home that night. Laurie was killed by a drunk driver shortly after leaving Jared’s. This biography is written by me, Laurie’s younger sister Jennifer Tavares. My sister’s story should not have ended that dreadful night. Laurie was an innocent victim, full of life to give and receive, and it was all taken so abruptly from her and all that loved her. Her loss is unexplainable and the effect unbearable. My mother, myself, family, friends and the world are deprived of a truly amazing soul. Rest in peace my beautiful angel, you are truly missed and forever in our hearts.

Ever since Surgeon General Koop recommended that BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) level be set at .04 in 1984, Remove Intoxicated Drivers has advocated the lowering of the BAC. Koop cited studies that indicate a person begins to lose their peripheral vision at a BAC of .04.

New York State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz of District 51 in Brooklyn has a bill that’s a step in the right direction.

NYAB04369 Text

By Ortiz | Amd S1192, V & T L Lowers the blood alcohol concentration required for driving while intoxicated from .08 of one per centum to .06, and for aggravated driving while intoxicated from .18 per centum to .14.

With the powerful lobbying groups representing the alcohol and lawyers interests, changing the current law regarding the BAC level is a tough road to hoe. RID applauds Assemblyman Ortiz for putting forth this bill and will work with his efforts in passing this legislation. The NTSB (National Traffic Safety Board) conducted a seven year study that concluded 800 American lives would be saved annually by lowering the BAC from .08 to .05. The study or even this issue has received little media attention since  the NTSB released this publication in May of 2013. It’s refreshing to see that Assemblyman Ortiz is taking concrete action toward making the roads we share safer for everyone. We urge RID members to support this bill, .NYAB04369. You can contact Assemblyman Ortiz’s office at 518-455-3821 to voice your concerns.

A good barometer of how effective the enormous effort to reduce drunken driving is the number of arrests for DWI. Statewide in New York, the number has dropped the past seven years, according to data released this month by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Across the state, arrests for intoxication by alcohol or drugs dropped from 43,887 in 2013 to 41,752 last year.

RID attributes the decrease to both law enforcement and greater public awareness. Specifically, New York State utilizes checkpoints as being part of the efforts for deterring drunken driving.  For the past few years, Albany County, has been aggressively staging check points on the entry points to our highways  where alcohol consumption has been closely associated with certain events and holidays.

Although these efforts by law enforcement continue to yield dozens of arrests, the fact that overall DWI arrests are down is a positive development. The U.S. Supreme Court considered the legality of sobriety checkpoints in the case of Michigan v. Sitz. In Sitz, The Court found that checkpoints constitute a seizure for Fourth Amendment purposes but that sobriety checkpoints are reasonable and permissible under certain conditions, despite the fact that the law generally forbids law enforcement officers from stopping drivers unless there is a suspicion that the drivers have violated the law. The Court found that that the dangers posed by drunk driving outweighed the Fourth Amendment intrusion. Many jurisdictions that conduct sobriety checkpoints require the checkpoint to be publicized. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has its own guidelines on sobriety checkpoints and encourages agencies to aggressively publicize the checkpoints.

There are positive and negative results from publicizing checkpoints. There is benefit in showing the public that law enforcement is taking this issue seriously by devoting its resources in this manner. Some skeptics might conclude that announcing the checkpoints in advance merely gives the drunken driver a heads-up on how to avoid arrest. In any case, checkpoints should continue to be an key component in making the roads and highways we share safer for everyone.