Many Utah residents have heard of the Gov. Jon Huntsman’s most recent bill that eliminates the applications and fees previously required to drink at Utah’s restaurants and bars, but few have heard of the new “tough” legislation passed that imposes harsher penalties on drunk drivers. Concurrently with the bill passed to limit restrictions on Utah’s bars, Gov. Huntsman signed a bill that would require vehicle forfeiture and longer loss of drivers license for those drinkers that get behind the wheel. This bill is part of Gov. Huntsman’s liquor reform package reports the Deseret News. Under HB15, drunk drivers can lose their vehicles, while SB272 increases the length of time their drivers’ licenses are suspended. Additionally, underage drinkers who are caught driving while intoxicated can potentially lose their licenses until they are 21. “I think that’s a more important part than the other,” Utah State Senator Michael Waddoups said, referring to the harsher consequences for drunk drivers. The drunk driving bills, he adds, “will change people’s behavior and affect people’s lives.”
Utah already boasts of some of the harshest drunk driving penalties in the nation, and this bill further adds to the strict laws. I think we all hope that harsher penalties, coupled with individual responsibility will one day eradicate drunk driving, a problem that has affected the lives of so many.
Ron Kramer is a personal injury attorney with offices in Ogden, Draper, and Provo, Utah.
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