Dec 30, 2018 3 min read

How’s this for a paradox: While Pennsylvania has some of the most restrictive laws in the country when it comes to the sale of alcohol, it has also been one of the most lenient when it comes to prosecuting drivers who get behind the wheel when they are drunk.

That, thankfully, changed just before the holidays, the time of the year when there is traditionally an increase in the number of drunken driving crashes and fatalities.

A new state law that was approved in the fall by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Tom Wolf makes a DUI a felony for the first time. Before Dec. 23, when the law went into effect, DUI offenses were treated as misdemeanors. Now, impaired drivers will be hit with felony charges if they are four-time offenders, or if they offend for a third time in a 10-year span, and have a blood-alcohol content of at least 0.16 percent when they are caught the third time.

Repeat offenders who end up killing someone now also face stiffer minimum penalties, with 5 to 7 years behind bars guaranteed, rather than the 3 years that were on the books before the new law was enacted. The law also jacks up the penalties for individuals who drive while their license is under suspension for a DUI-related offense.

The law’s focus on repeat offenders is sound, particularly in light of the fact that they account for a full 40 percent of all DUI crashes. While incidents of drunken driving have decreased over the years, thanks in part to greater awareness and tougher laws, it remains a nagging problem. The organization Pennsylvania Parents Against Impaired Driving estimates there are more than 12,000 DUI crashes every year in the commonwealth, with 9,000 injuries resulting from those and 333 deaths.

Chris Demko, who organized Pennsylvania Parents Against Impaired Driving with his wife, Susan, after their daughter was killed by a repeat DUI offender in 2014, told the Associated Press, “What we think will happen is that people are going to have another reason not to drive impaired again after the first time.”

He also explained, “At a bare minimum, it’s going to take some of the worst offenders off the road for a longer period of time when they get caught, so they can’t go out and kill anybody.”

In Pennsylvania, most first-time offenders are able to get charges against them dismissed if they go through the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, which can involve counseling, fees and testing for drugs. While a lone DUI offense with no injuries resulting should not ruin anyone’s prospects for life, it is not trivial. That being the case, Pennsylvania should consider adopting penalties like they have in Arizona, the state with the strictest DUI laws, where first offenders could receive a minimum of 10 days in jail, and a minimum of 90 days in jail for a second offense.

Getting drunk and getting behind the wheel again and again is a crime. It’s about time Pennsylvania started treating it as such.