California Highway Patrol officials revealed that 1,239 motorists were arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence over the holiday weekend. A targeted CA DUI enforcement effort was conducted between 6:00 pm Friday and midnight Sunday. There were 1,684 California DUI arrests during the same three day period last year.

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The Governor’s Office of Highway Traffic Safety has reported that 309 motorists were charged with driving under the influence in Arizona over the Fourth of July weekend. 106 of those arrests were made on the Fourth itself. The statistics reflect 50 fewer DUI arrests than last year.

More than 300 officers and deputies joined a statewide task force targeting drunk driving. Of the total AZ DUI arrests, 99 were for extreme DUI, which is usually charged when the driver has a blood-alcohol content in excess of .15%. Law enforcement agencies made a total of 3,471 traffic stops during the extended holiday weekend.

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At least 7000 motorists in the state of Illinois have been required to install ignition interlock devices in their vehicles. A law which took effect January 1, 2009 requires all motorists convicted of driving under the influence in Illinois to install the breath-testing devices if they wish to continue driving. According to the Secretary of State’s office, another 5000 drivers could install the devices by the end of the year.

The interlocks are required as a condition for return of driving privileges and are installed for 6 to 12 months, the length of time a license is typically suspended for first offense IL DUI. Drivers have the option of not installing the devices though they would be prohibited from operating a vehicle during the suspension period.

The offender pays for the installation and a monthly fee to maintain the equipment. The cost, and perhaps social stigma, are influential in the decision to opt out of use of the devices. As many as 40,000 are charged with Illinois DUI in an average year, most of them first time offenders.

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A new law has gone into effect requiring repeat offenders for Missouri DWI to install ignition interlock devices in their vehicles. The breathalyzer-type device tests the blood alcohol content of the driver and disables the vehicle’s ignition if alcohol above a certain level is detected.

Motorists with one conviction for driving while intoxicated in Missouri will be required to install the devices should they be charged with a second or subsequent offense. The installation of the interlock will be a condition for return of driver’s license.

The typical cost to ‘rent’ an ignition interlock device is $65 per month. Installation is $40 and removal is $35. All costs are borne by the MO DWI offender. According to state records, over 100,000 motorists in Missouri are subject to the mandatory installation of the device.

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Gov. Dave Freuenthal has announced the creation of a team to review the issue of driving under the influence in Wyoming. The task of the group is to suggest laws and inducements to reduce drunk driving.

The Governor’s Team to Prevent Impaired Driving takes over for the Governor’s Council on Impaired Driving. The prior group focused on penalties for WY DUI, and was responsible for passage of a new law requiring DUI offenders to install an ignition interlock devices in their vehicles. The council, however, had mixed results working with state lawmakers over the past two years, and the Governor hopes the new team will communicate better with the Legislature.

Wyoming has slowly taken the initiative to combat impaired driving, lowering the legal limit for blood alcohol content from .10% to .08%, and outlawing open containers in motor vehicles. As a result the number of arrests for Wyoming DUI has risen from 1,000 in 2005 to 1,400 in 2008.

The Governor’s Team will develop specific recommendations for presentation to the Legislature. Research is underway to analyze efforts and laws in other states, such as enhanced penalties for refusing to submit to a breath, blood or urine test. Prosecutors would like to criminalize such actions. Currently, the penalty in Wyoming is a longer driver’s license suspension.

The new team has fifteen months to develop a comprehensive plan to reduce incidents of driving under the influence in Wyoming.

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A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge was arrested late Thursday night for suspicion of driving under the influence in California. Judge John Thaddeus Doyle was stopped in the Baldwin Hills area of South LA around 11:15 pm for a traffic violation and subsequently charged with drunk driving. He was released around 4:30 am Friday after posting $30,000 bail. Doyle, 56, serves the Compton and Glendale courthouses.

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Diana Taurasi, basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, was charged with driving under the influence in Phoenix, Arizona last Thursday. Taurasi was stopped by Phoenix Police for speeding around 2:30 in the morning. Alcohol was suspected and a blood sample was tested at a mobile DUI unit. She was cited for AZ DUI and released. Her blood alcohol content has not been revealed.

Taurasi is one of the more well known players in the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the top vote getter for the July 25 WNBA All-Star game. Taurasi said that she is embarrassed by the event and felt it was “unfortunate for my family and the organization.”

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The funds used to treat repeat offenders for driving under the influence in Kansas have been cut by 70% by state legislators. Last the past fiscal year the state spent approximately $1.2 million to treat drivers convicted of their fourth KS DUI. The funds have been slashed to $416,000, according to the director of addiction and prevention services for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.

Because the number of people requiring treatment will likely not change, there will probably be a reduction in the treatment period from twelve months to three. Professionals working with addiction say that the length of engagement is critical for effectiveness, and that a shortening of the programs could cause a rise in recidivism.

The decision to cut the funds comes after the passage of a new law requiring those with a third DUI conviction, rather than the fourth, to enter an alcohol treatment program. That is expected to add as many as 200 people to the rolls of those under treatment. Participants in the program may be required to pay some of the expenses. State lawmakers and officials hope local resources can fill in the gaps.

Treatment professionals, corrections officials and a few lawmakers hope that public safety concerns will help resurrect the funds and thus the DUI treatment programs. The issue could become one of the focuses of a new Kansas DUI commission established to review the state

Two Manatee County judges have issued an order stating that the Intoxilyzer 8000 does not meet state law requirements. The equipment is used by the county sheriff’s Office, as well as other law enforcement agencies across the state, when determining blood alcohol content of motorists suspected of driving under the influence in Florida. The order was issued after the state was unable to prove the micron band measurement used by the breath testing machine, thus establishing ‘compelling evidence’ that the machines are not the ones approved for use in the state.

State law requires equipment issued to law enforcement agencies be approved by the US Department of Transportation. Unauthorized changes in the equipment after the rigorous review process would void that approval. Florida DUI laws further stipulate that an officer can only request a breath test using approved equipment.

Florida DUI defense attorneys have long questioned both the authorization of the Intoxilyzer 8000 and its accuracy. The recent ruling gives them a stronger challenge in court.

Because of the court order, motorists stopped for suspicion of drunk driving in Manatee County Florida are not required to submit to a breath test. Testing can only be done on an approved machine. Previously, those refusing to submit to a breath test were subject to suspension of their driver

California state lawmaker John Benoit has sponsored legislation that would suspend a California driver