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New Nebraska DUI Law Saves Courts Time and Taxpayers Money

October 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The State of Nebraska  has reduced the number of administrative license revocation hearings for DUI cases by 90 percent!  The number of hearings is down because people who are arrested for DUI now have the option to simply waive the Administrative License Revocation (ALR) and immediately apply for an Ignition Interlock Permit (IIP).

Lifesafer Ignition Interlock NebraskaNebraska’s Administrative License Revocation law, which has been in effect since 1992, allows police to confiscate the driver’s license of anyone arrested for DUI and issue a 30-day temporary license to be used until a license revocation hearing can be held.

People who think they’ve been wrongly accused can ask for a hearing, where, after testimony a recommendation is made determining whether revocations should go into effect or be dismissed. Most of the hearings result in 90-day license suspensions.

A new state law, which went into effect on January 1, 2012, allows for no suspension for first-time offenders if they waive the ALR and apply for an Ignition Interlock Permit.  It also provides a shorter suspension (45 days) for multiple offenders that waive the ALR and apply for an interlock device.  Consequently, Nebraska has seen a 20 percent increase in the number of ignition interlock devices issued in DUI cases.

The IIP allows those arrested to use an interlock device like the LifeSafer FC100 and continue to drive to meet their daily obligations, like going to work, school and treatment programs.  In the past, those arrested would usually wait weeks (and sometimes months) for their hearing, while continuing to drive on a suspended license.  As a result, Nebraska has seen a dramatic drop in license revocation hearings from 5,150 in 2011, to fewer than 500 so far in 2012. In addition, 471 hearing decisions were appealed to district courts last year.  So far in 2012, only eight decisions have been appealed, freeing up valuable court resources.

Here’s a handy chart from Nebraska’s DMV site which shows who is eligible for an IIP after an arrest: http://www.dmv.ne.gov/frd/pdf/2012_Interlock_chart.pdf

This new law is getting people back on the road quickly, safely and legally while saving tax payers money.  Way to go Nebraska!

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MADD’s Report to the Nation

November 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In November 2006 Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) launched its Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving.  This week they released their 5th Anniversary Report to the Nation.  The report rates the nation three stars on a five-star scale (based on the average of the state’s ratings).

Each star a state earns represents a passage of a law or participation in one of the following MADD recommended countermeasures:  MADD 5th Anniversary Report to the Nation

  • Requiring Ignition Interlocks for all Drunk Driving Offenders
  • Conducting Sobriety Checkpoints
  • Enhancing Penalties for DUI Child Endangerment
  • Participating in No-refusal Events
  • Utilizing Administrative License Revocation

Five states earned Five stars on the MADD rating scale including Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, and Utah.  On the other end of the spectrum, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Montana and Michigan had only one star each.

The report also addresses the financial cost of drunk driving estimated to be $132 billion in the U.S.

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