Rhode Island’s Ranks As The State Having The Weakest Laws To Combat Drunken Driving, According To The Insurance Institute For Highway Safety

In view of Rhode Island’s ranking as the state having the weakest laws to combat drunken driving, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch today said he will continue to fight to institute stricter laws against drunken driving and to improve highway safety.

Lynch said, “It’s imperative that we measure up to other states by enacting stricter laws against drunk driving, by closing existing loopholes, and by addressing the slaughter of innocent victims that all too frequently takes place on our Rhode Island roads and highways.”

Lynch stated that while the passage of .08 legislation in 2003 marked a substantial turning point, after more than a decade of failing to enact this law, other equally as important pieces of legislation that he has submitted and advocated for need to be passed to buttress laws pertaining to drunk driving and underage drinking.

“If we are to make any progress at all, we must forcefully remove drunk driving and underage drinking from assuming center stage in the tragedies that are all too frequently played out on our highways,” Lynch said. “If we are to be successful in curbing the awful scourge of drunk driving that consistently results in ranking Rhode Island as the worst state for its proportion of alcohol-related fatalities, we must toughen and strengthen our laws.”

Lynch said that one of his top priorities is to re-introduce during the next session of the General Assembly legislation he submitted to enhance penalties for DUI refusals that stalled in both the Senate and House Judiciary Committees this year. “It’s completely unacceptable that Rhode Island leads the nation in DUI refusals, but completely in line with our ranking as one of the states with the highest numbers of drunk driving fatalities and the weakest laws in this area,” Lynch said. Lynch said he will continue to press for enactment of legislation that will allow law enforcement to request a search warrant for a blood, breath, urine or chemical test of a suspect if there is probable cause to believe the individual is driving under the influence and has refused to consent to a test.

He also stressed the importance of the passage of bills addressing underage drinking, including clarifying criminal laws and penalties for furnishing and procuring alcohol for anyone under the age of 21. “We must put the onus on underage drinking on adult enablers, as well as on the minors themselves,” he said. Among the New England states, only Rhode Island does not recognize a cause of action for social host liability, with its statutes applying only to those selling alcohol.

Expressing disappointment that the Governor has not acted on his request to ask the Supreme Court to revisit a 1989 decision that makes DUI sobriety checkpoints illegal, Lynch cited the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s inclusion of checkpoints as one of its criteria for granting a state a “good” rating. Rhode Island is just one of 11 states not employing this mechanism to cut down on drunken driving.

Calling the good work of the Drunk Driving Task Force he established invaluable in considering changes in Rhode Island laws to make them stronger and more effective in addressing drunk driving and underage drinking, Lynch said, “The Task Force has obtained a measure of success. But it’s obvious that there are miles to go in order for Rhode Island to make gains that put us on a level playing field with other states, in curbing drunk driving.”