"Alcohol-related roadway deaths in California have shot up by more than 50% in the past decade - an increase more than twice as steep as the rest of the country, federal estimates show. More than 1,300 people die each year statewide in drunken collisions. Thousands more are injured. Again and again, repeat DUI offenders cause the crashes. To understand why so many people are dying under the wheels of drunk and drugged drivers,"
"The news organization also examined other states' laws on intoxicated driving and sifted through decades of state and federal traffic safety data. It found that California has some of the weakest DUI laws in the country, allowing repeat drunk and drugged drivers to stay on the road with little punishment.Here, drivers generally can't be charged with a felony until their fourth DUI within 10 years, unless they injure someone. In some states, a second DUI can be a felony."
California's alcohol-related roadway deaths rose more than 50% over the past decade, outpacing the national increase, with more than 1,300 annual fatalities and thousands injured. Repeat DUI offenders account for many collisions. State laws allow drivers to avoid felony charges until a fourth DUI within ten years unless someone is injured, while some states treat a second DUI as a felony. License suspensions after multiple DUIs are shorter in California — typically three years after a third offense — enabling some drivers with up to six DUIs to regain driving privileges. Vehicular manslaughter caused by intoxication is not classified as a violent felony, though DUI causing great bodily injury is.
Read at Kqed
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