AAA officials this week thanked the members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly for passing a bill to improve the safety and livelihood of Pennsylvania drivers against impaired drivers who threaten the lives of their fellow drivers every day. AAA supports enactment and vigorous enforcement of laws against driving under the influence of any intoxicating substance. Along with distracted drivers and aggressive drivers, motorists rank impaired drivers among their top concerns on the highway.
“It is an unfortunate, but true fact, that there are too many individuals who drive while impaired – either under the influence of a substance or under the influence of alcohol,” said Theresa Podguski, director of legislative affairs, AAA East Central. “We applaud the legislature for taking this step towards keeping Pennsylvania’s roads safe for motorists.”
PennDOT crash statistics show that since 2016, alcohol-related crashes have claimed 1,823 lives: an average of over three hundred fatalities a year. Eighty-nine percent of the alcohol-related fatalities were drivers and occupants in the vehicle driven by the impaired driver however, all highway users are at risk.
House Bill 773, entitled Deana’s Law and sponsored by Representative Christopher Quinn, would do the following:
- House Bill 773 would increase some of the gradings for DUI offenses and would require consecutive sentencing for certain repeat DUI offenders.
- Consecutive sentencing:
- This would mean that if an individual is sentenced for a DUI offense and the individual has two or more prior offenses, this individual would serve this sentence consecutively with any other sentence that the individual is serving.
- Current law does not contain consecutive sentencing requirements for DUI convictions.
- This would mean that if an individual is sentenced for a DUI offense and the individual has two or more prior offenses, this individual would serve this sentence consecutively with any other sentence that the individual is serving.
- Grading Increases:
- An individual who refuses a chemical or breath test or takes the breathalyzer test and has a BAC of 0.16 or higher or is under the influence of a controlled substance and has the following number of prior offenses would commit the following:
- A third-degree felony for two prior offenses (no change from current law).
- A second-degree felony for three prior offenses (this is an increase in penalty from current law, as it is currently a third-degree felony); and
- A second-degree felony and a sentencing enhancement for four or more prior offenses (this is an increase in penalty from current law, as it is currently a third-degree felony).
- An individual who refuses a chemical or breath test or takes the breathalyzer test and has a BAC of 0.16 or higher or is under the influence of a controlled substance and has the following number of prior offenses would commit the following:
This legislation was signed into law on July 11, 2022, by Governor Tom Wolf as Act 59 of 2022. The provisions set forth in the new law become effective on November 8, 2022.
AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 71 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members. News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.