SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Impaired driving as we know it may be changing in the near future as advocates and politicians bring anti-DUI bills back into the light.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), a nonprofit with the goal to end drunk driving, is trying to revive a bill that would require anti-DUI devices be installed in any offender's vehicle. Current laws do not apply to first-time offenders.
"My baby sister Irene was killed by a drunk driver,” said Rhonda Campbell. "So, 42 years later, here I am working for MADD and advocating for victims."
She works with MADD Sacramento to help others avoid what she and her family went through.
"Had the person who killed my sister been under an all offender ignition interlock program that may not have happened to her," she said. "If we can prevent it from happening to another family, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it happens."
Campbell says President Joe Biden’s federal infrastructure bill, which was already signed into law, includes language that would require anti-drunk driving technology in all new cars starting as soon as 2026.
"We’re moving forward with that, the halt is actually proceeding as it should and we are actually seeing trends toward the technology in cars in the future that will prevent impaired driving," she said.
She says the new smart car technology could be a game changer.
"It’s going to be able to detect your eyes, your vision, how you handle the car on the roads. [There are] so many factors to determine impairment other than just blowing into a device," said Campbell. "It effectively could be the beginning of the end of drunk driving."
MADD says more than 11,000 people die in drunk driving crashes each year with the holiday season being especially dangerous.
"We are at a 16-year high for DUI crashes in our state and, over the Christmas holiday, that’s going to increase approximately 30%," said Campbell.
Which is why the California Highway Patrol is hosting maximum enforcement periods over the holidays to crack down on drunk and distracted driving.
"We’re going to put all the resources that we have available out on the road. We want people seeing our black and white patrol vehicles out there," said CHP officer Ruben Jones. "The reason for the season is family and we don’t want loss of life during this time."
Ruben says there were 25 fatal crashes during their maximum enforcement period last year with nearly 640 stops made over the extended weekend.
"We’re going to be out there being visible just to slow people down and get them to their destination safely," he said.
The maximum enforcement period begins Friday and runs through Christmas night.
