Lawmaker proposes tougher DUI law

Pennsylvania state Sen. Tom Killion has introduced legislation designed to crack down on repeat DUI offenses.

Senate Bill 773 would require the use of “continuous alcohol monitoring” devices for anyone with a third conviction on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol.

“According to a news release from Killion’s office, the devices “sample and test the wearer’s insensate perspiration for the presence of alcohol.”

The results of the continuous tests are relayed to a “base station” at the home of the wearer, which in turn periodically uploads the results to the monitoring agency.

In a memo to fellow lawmakers, Killion described the legislation as Deana’s Law, inspired by the death of Delaware County resident Deana Eckman, who was killed in an accident in February involving a driver with five DUI convictions on his record. The driver was subsequently charged with a sixth DUI in connection with the fatal accident.

“(Continuous monitoring) devices work,” Killion said. “They effectively deter offenders from consuming alcohol. You keep someone from drinking, you keep them from turning a 3-ton vehicle into a killing machine.”

The monitoring devices have been in use in York County for seven years, Killion said, and in the process have lowered DUI recidivism rates by 90 percent and DUI fatalities by 21 percent.

Other aspects of the bill involve heightening penalties for drunken driving offenses. A fourth DUI conviction would draw a 5- to 10-year sentence instead of the current 3½ to 7 years, and the fifth would fall in the 10- to 20-year range. An offender’s vehicle would be impounded after a third DUI arrest, and DUI sentences would have to be served consecutively, rather than concurrently, with other convictions.

The legislation also directs the Pennsylvania State Police and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to look into the creation of “DUI courts,” and it directs those departments to increase the time period that an ignition interlock device would need to be installed on an offender’s vehicle after conviction from one year to two.

“Repeat DUI offenders callously disregard the lives and safety of others,” Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland said in the news release. “This legislation recognizes the seriousness of these crimes and gives law enforcement important new tools to make sure these offenders never again have the opportunity to harm others or take a life.”

Killion’s bill has been referred to the Senate Transportation Committee for consideration.