OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Lawmakers are considering tightening up the state's laws against driving under the influence after two recent cases that left three dead and two - including an infant - critically injured.

Rep. Roger Goodman held a work group meeting Tuesday morning to discuss a variety of ideas to stop more impaired drivers. The working group comprised more than 20 people, including judges, attorneys, law enforcement, and victims of impaired drivers.

Ideas discussed at the meeting included making driving under the influence a felony on the third or fourth conviction within 10 years, rather than the current law that has it at five. Also discussed were lifetime driving bans after a certain number of DUIs and mandatory installment of interlock devices installed on cars after an arrest, rather than conviction.

Goodman noted the significant costs that would be associated with lowering the felony threshold, saying that it would cost about $200 million for construction of a new prison to confine the number of drunken drivers.

"These proposals are tough in our current fiscal climate," he said.

But Frank Blair, whose 24-year-old daughter Sheena was killed by a drunken driver in 2010, said that costs can't measure loss.

"At some point these people need to be removed from society because they kill us," he said.

Goodman and other lawmakers from the Senate and House will meet with Gov. Jay Inslee in the afternoon to discuss what ideas could be included in legislation. The Senate has already carved out time for a Thursday morning hearing on a newly-introduced, title-only bill on driving under the influence.

Goodman said that while the state has passed several laws to increase penalties for drunken drivers, in light of recent deadly accidents, "there's a compelling state interest here to improve road safety."

Last month, a suspected drunken driver slammed into a family crossing the street in a residential Seattle neighborhood, a crash that critically injured a 10-day-old child and his mother and killed his grandparents.

Karina Schulte, 33, and her son remain in the intensive care unit, said Susan Gregg, a spokeswoman for Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Grandparents Dennis Schulte, 66, and Judith Schulte, 68, died at the scene.

Mark Mullan, 50, was ordered held on $2.5 million bail pending an arraignment Thursday. He had prior DUI arrests, was driving on a suspended license at the time of the crash, and was supposed to have an interlock device on his truck, but did not.

Last week, a Seattle woman was killed in a crash with a wrong-way driver on Highway 520 near the University of Washington. Michael A. Robertson, 25, has been charged with vehicular homicide and ordered held on $1 million bail. Police and prosecutors say Robertson was driving under the influence when he crashed head-on into a car driven by 58-year-old Morgan Williams on Thursday.

Inslee said earlier in the day that he wants to see changes including more resources to prosecute drivers. He also said that the idea of putting interlock devices on cars immediately after arrest was potentially a "sensible approach."

"What I would like to see is the most aggressive approach to alcohol impaired drivers as humanely possible here," he said. "Alcohol-impaired drivers are just like a ticking time bomb that a terrorist would have, and we ought to have an adequately aggressive response to that.

Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, who is sponsoring the bill that will be heard Thursday said that while drunken driving deaths have dropped in the state over the years, "we could do more."

"Our goal should be zero deaths from drunk drivers," he said.

First time drving with BAL >.08 (>0 if under 21) the vehicle is siezed for forfeiture. Registered owner can buy back for 50% Blue Book.

Second offense buyback is 100% of Bluebook.

Third offense the car is scrapped.

This would be in addition to DUI/accident/etc. This would be just for having the alcohol in the bloodstream.

$200 million could buy you a nice free taxi service to and from any bar to home ;-)

just add it to the per liter fee...

have they tried banning cars yet? think of all the problems that would solve...

I'm going to go out on a limb here and call texting and yaking on the phone while driving is addictive and therefore should be treated similarly. I also think that any time there is a crash that the police should immediately confiscate any and all phones to see if they were being used at the time of the accident.

111 people died in DUI accidents in Snohomish County in the last 5 years.

I think you need a government approved training program to license people with cars, that'll solve the fuckin problem for sure.

typical government in action... set up a work group to stop impaired driving that doesn't contain a single "convicted" impared driver...


That workgroup should consist of nothing but repeat offenders so that they can actually come with a real solution... otherwise its just more feel good bullsh!t

Interlocks aren't effective. Drunks just drag their 5 year old kid along to breathe into the tube to start the car and every 10 minutes or whatever it's set for repeat.

Effective? You want effective?

1st DUI offense is a misdemeanor with a $5,000 fine.

2nd DUI offense is a felony with a $10,000 fine, a DUI brand or tatoo on your forehead, forfiture of driver's license for life, and if found in violation by driving, you're thrown onto McNeil Island to feed the sexual predators.

3rd DUI offense, you're executed on the spot.

I'm kinda' into effectiveness and things that work, generally.

16,000 deaths in 6 years thanks to texters. DISTRACTED

(hijack done)

Hard to tell which is worse, drunk drivers or texting drivers, I'm leaning toward texting drivers, at least the drunk is looking out the windshield.

How about a drunk that is texting????????.Good luck,
SZ

The average text takes about 5.5 seconds, how far does a car travel at 65mph in 5 and a half seconds?
Like I said at least a drunk is looking where he's going, staring at your crotch while operating a motor vehicle seems a bit hazardous to other motorists to me.

525 feet give or take a few inches.........

You can stop texting in 1 second.

When you can stop being drunk in 1 second, the point being made might be valid.

Both are idiotic things to do when at the wheel. Drive the car when you're driving the car.

Salmo g's plan sounds OK to me.

Yeah, but the thread is about drunk drivers, not texting.

All depends on what your crotch looks like

So how long have you been a dolt?

2/5/87 last drink

cigs healthy? show me where I said that

daily drunk? Prior to 2/87, more true that false

telephone puncher? Hey, hey! You betcha! Somewere around the early '60's......guess you got me again.


and with all that, you offered what? For a "Gee, you're dumb." Kid............You don't show up with much. It might be all you have, but it ain't much.

I'd ask you the same question, but I already know the answer.

Seems to be a recurring event.