A new pandemic is sweeping Arizona, but it won’t cause a sneeze

Amanda Savage

Another pandemic is sweeping the Grand Canyon state.It won’t cause sneezing or coughing, but it can cause tummies to turn.

It’s not the H1N1 virus, but more terrifying, it’s the current DUI laws in Arizona, and thanks to good ol’ Sheriff Joe, they are only getting “tougher.”

When driving within a mile radius of any of the MCC or ASU campus locations on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night, more than likely one can expect to be greeted with a parade – a sparkle of red and blue lights gleaming bright and polluting the streets, disrupting traffic and busting college kids for drinking.

The DUI task force obviously serves a just purpose, to keep people safe and to keep drunk driver’s from harming themselves and others.

But have the Arizona DUI laws gone too far?

People who are first time offenders in Arizona are being treated as if they are felons and rapists.

Regardless of where they reside, or how clean someone’s record may be, there are four main consequences when getting a DUI: jail time, license suspension, fines and insurance consequences.

You are looking at anywhere between 24 hours to 10 days in jail. The same amount of jail time expected by a second time offender in Ohio.

Although Arizona has the same 90 day to one year license suspension policy as most states, Arizona fines for first time offenders are much more than most states.

In states such as Colorado, California and New York, the maximum amount of fees one can be expected to pay is $1,000.

In Arizona, along with the required fees for taking DUI classes, there is a laundry list of fees involved, with the base fine itself set at $250.

As if getting a plain old “DUI” wasn’t enough, within the past year, Arizona has put the “super – extreme” DUI offense into effect. This is for offenders who have a blood alcohol content of 0.20 percent or higher. The legal limit is 0.08 percent, an “extreme” DUI being anything that is between 0.15 and 0.20 percent.

The new penalties for drivers who reach this threshold include even higher fines and a minimum of 45 days in jail.

Previously, a judge could suspend part of a jail sentence if the defendant completed a court-sponsored drug or alcohol program, but this no longer applies.

Arizona is the only state that has this classification for drunk drivers.

With the amount of DUI busts and DUI task force buses that have been pushing through the streets lately, one would think there was a county wide contest amongst police departments for a year of free of donuts to the team that busts the most kids.

With Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert, Phoenix and the County Sheriff’s Departments all joining together in the East Valley to bust minors for leaving frat houses and coming home to dorms, people who are drunk and walking home, riding their bikes or anything of that nature, it wouldn’t be surprising.

A DUI is a very serious subject matter, and by no means should be shrugged off or taken lightly.

But similarly, these are young adults who are trying to do something with their lives and are being treated as though they are criminals.

The last thing these families who are facing tuition payments need is another bill.

DUI laws in Arizona are out of control, and getting worse.

Everyone makes mistakes, everyone has a bad night, and everyone makes a poor decision sometime in their life, especially if it’s the first time around, some issues shouldn’t be weighed so heavily on an individuals character.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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