MADD URGES SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE TO ADVANCE EMMA’S LAW
Legislature has opportunity to reduce drunk driving with an improved ignition interlock program
02/26/2013
Contact Information
Laura Hudson
laurahudson@sccvc.org
803-413-5040
Columbia, S.C. – Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) urges Senators to advance Emma’s Law, S 137, requiring all repeat and first-time offenders with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .12 or higher to use an ignition interlock on their vehicle for at least six months. The law is named after six year-old Emma Longstreet who was killed by a drunk driver on January 1, 2012.
“MADD asks the Senate to honor Emma Longstreet, and all victims of drunk driving, and advance this critical legislation. Interlocked offenders simply cannot drive drunk and hurt or kill innocent people in South Carolina,” said MADD South Carolina Vice-President of Public Policy Laura Hudson
South Carolina has a drunk driving problem. In 2011, 315 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver, representing 38 percent of all traffic fatalities in the state. Nationally, 31 percent of all traffic fatalities are caused by drunk driving.
“The passage of Emma’s Law will prevent drunk driving. Ignition interlocks are proven to protect the public and save lives, while giving convicted drunk drivers the opportunity to continue driving,” said Jan Withers, MADD National President.
South Carolina requires ignition interlocks for repeat convicted drunk drivers. Throughout the U.S., 17 states now require ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers and an additional 12 require interlocks for repeat and first time offenders with a BAC of .15 or greater.
Studies show that a first-time convicted drunk driver is not a first-time offender, but rather it is simply the first time they have been caught. First-time offenders have driven drunk an average of 80 times before they are convicted. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ignition interlocks, on average, reduce drunk driving recidivism by 67 percent.
For more information on interlocks, please visit http://www.madd.org/drunk-driving/ignition-interlocks/. For information on interlock laws, please visit: http://www.madd.org/drunk-driving/ignition-interlocks/status-of-state-ignition.html
About Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Founded by a mother whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to protect families from drunk driving and underage drinking. With the help of those who want a safer future, MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® will end this danger on America’s roads. PowerTalk 21® is the national day for parents to talk with their kids about alcohol, using the proven strategies of Power of Parents® to reduce the risk of underage drinking. And as one of the largest victim services organizations in the U.S., MADD also supports drunk and drugged driving victims and survivors at no charge, serving one person every eight minutes through local MADD victim advocates and at 1-877-MADD-HELP. Learn more at www.madd.org or by calling 1-877-ASK-MADD.
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