Thursday, November 17, 2011

MADD gives Kansas a five-star rating for DUI countermeasures despite climbing DUI-related deaths

Posted by Ben Palosaari on Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 7:00 AM

Kansas has earned props for its anti-DUI laws.
  • Kansas has earned props for its anti-DUI laws.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving announced Wednesday that they had bestowed a five-star rating on Kansas, along with four other states, for DUI countermeasures. The rating is based on Kansas laws requiring breath interlock devices for all convicted drunk drivers, operating sobriety checkpoints, escalating penalties for driving while intoxicated with children in the car, using "no refusal" methods of apprehending suspected drunk drivers, and revoking licenses through administrative processes.

The Pitch explored the civil-liberties implications of Kansas and Missouri using checkpoints in a cover story two weeks ago, and this week we outlined the litany of complaints and legal problems surrounding the Intoxilyzer 8000, the breath-testing machine of choice in Kansas.

Missouri, which earned three stars, doesn't mandate interlock devices after one DUI or have harsher penalties for DUIs with children present.

Of the five states receiving the high ranking — Kansas, Arizona, Illinois, Nebraska and Utah — only Kansas saw a rise in DUI-related deaths between 2006 and 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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