DUI The Unfinished Agenda

1. Simplify and streamline DUI arrests so it doesn't take two hours per arrest.
   
2. Establish a 2 cents per drink tax to fund DUI efforts.
   
3. Increase Dram Shop Liability to One Million Dollars.
   
4. Make the bar-entry age 21 statewide to prevent a handful of college towns from permitting teenagers to into nightclubs.
   
5. Adopt a minimum age of 21 to sell, serve and deliver alcoholic beverages in the course of employment. The current statewide minimum age is 18, unless a county of locality raises it. It's unrealistic to expect 18-year olds to card their classmates and fraternity brothers.
   
6. Put a hold on harmless provision in the liquor code to protect retailers holding fake Ids from civil liability if they make a good faith error in holding a valid ID.
   
7. Prohibit state's attorneys and village attorneys from plea bargaining away the summary suspension in DUI cases.
   
8. Adopt a statutory definition of "actual physical control of vehicle" in DUI cases to clarify the exact circumstances under which a person not operating the vehicle at the time of detection may be charged.
   
9. Apply the implied consent law to private property, such as parking lots. Currently, a motorist may be arrested on private property for DUI, but he may not be summarily suspended for the violation.
   
10. The Zero Tolerance law also needs some fine-tuning. a. The ZT law should apply to private property as the DUI laws do, instead of only to public highways as it does now. b. Police should be authorized to tow a vehicle when its minor driver violates the ZT law. Currently, police may not tow the vehicle (unless they make a criminal arrest for something else), which means drinking kids are often permitted to drive away.
    
11. Prohibit the sale of beer at gas stations.
    
12. Treat refusals to take a field sobriety test (FST) the same as a refusal to take the breath test, which means a six-month summary suspension of driving privileges.
    
13. Persons who refuse to take either the FST or the breath test or both should be ineligible for a Judicial Driving Permit (JDP).
    
14. Write a hit and run law that will pass court scrutiny so drivers who kill and then flee may be convicted without having to prove they knew they hit a human being and not a deer
    
15. Confiscate driver's licenses for underage alcohol use any time (not necessarily driving)
    
    OTHER NEEDED TRAFFIC SAFETY INITIATIVES
    
16. Blood Draw by Paramedics - hospital emergency rooms have unintentionally become safe havens for drunk drivers. Hospital personnel routinely refuse to draw blood from suspected impaired drivers at the request of police officers. Paramedics are the logical medical professionals to draw the blood of these drivers for use as evidence in court.
    
17. Keg Registration - studies indicate that keg registration laws, which require a sizeable deposit on beer kegs, have a significant impact on underage drinking (and in turn driving). A state keg registration law with a $50 deposit per keg is our suggestion.
    
18. Permit automated photo enforcement of traffic laws at red lights, grade crossings, and streets statewide. Photo enforcement is currently authorized only at three grade crossings in DuPage County.
    
19. The mandatory insurance law carries a penalty of a $500 fine, but many judges impose lower fines. Write the laws to take away any leeway from judges so that all persons found in violation of the law actually receive the prescribed penalty.
20. Unmask supervisions on the motor vehicle record, so dangerous drivers can be identified and charged the higher insurance premiums appropriate for their driving behavior.