Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.The Legislature’s passage of a sweeping DUI overhaul comes as new figures show Nebraska recorded a record low number of alcohol-related crashes in 2010.
There were 1,687 such crashes in 2010, down 3 percent from the previous year and the third straight annual drop.
But state officials say impaired driving remains a serious problem in the state. The crackdown in the Legislature was motivated by three high-profile crashes in the Omaha metropolitan area over two months in 2010 that left six dead: four motorcyclists killed by a single driver; a doctor killed while taking his son to his first day of school; and a newlywed killed by a drinker driving on a suspended license.
Among the key provisions:
>> Lengthened license suspensions from three months to six months on a first offense, but drivers are allowed to stay on the road if they get an interlock device.
>> Made it a felony to procure alcohol for a minor if death or bodily injury results.
>> Increased fines at nearly all levels.
>> Made it a separate offense to drive drunk with a passenger under age 16.
>> Increased penalties for leaving the scene of an injury accident.
“This is a bittersweet day for our family,” David Lutton, the father of newlywed Jessica Bedient, said of the bill’s passage. “If this law had been in place one year ago, maybe Jess would still be with us.”
— Henry J. Cordes
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