As you likely already know, MADD (Mothers’ Against Drunk Driving) grades all of the United States in their efforts to prevent DUI and drunk driving accidents. The organization releases an annual report detailing how each state measures up. Below are the criteria used for the annual drunk driving prevention report.
— No refusal policies to test blood alcohol concentration
— Statewide sobriety checkpoints
— Child endangerment policies increasing penalties if a drunk driver is transporting a child
— Ignition interlock devices required for all offenders, even first offenders
— Administrative license revocation, or ALR, for drivers who will not provide an alcohol concentration sample before arrest
States are awarded one star for each of the criteria utilized, which means that a perfect rating is five stars. In the latest annual report, Oklahoma earned three out of five stars. Here are the DUI and drunk driving accident prevention efforts currently in place in Oklahoma: Child endangerment policies, ALR and sobriety checkpoints.
In 2016, Oklahoma enacted IDEA (Impaired Driving Elimination Act). This ensures that data about drunk driving convictions are shared with law enforcement offices across the state. IDEA prevents a single drunk driver from incurring more than one first time DUI convictions. Now, all offenses are counted in full, bringing harsher penalties to the offender.
If you have already been victimized by an intoxicated motorist, you will be pleased to know that Oklahoma is working hard to step up its efforts to prevent drunk driving accidents. For more detailed information about drunk driving accidents in the state, please consider speaking with a personal injury lawyer about your case.
Source: MADD.org, “Rating the States’ Drunk Driving Efforts,” accessed April 18, 2017
