Okla. Bill Would Mandate DUI, DWI Convictions on Drivers’ Licenses

Oklahoma State Rep. Scott Inman, D-Del City, recently filed a measure aimed at reducing drunk driving convictions and alcohol-related traffic fatalities by requiring that previous DUI or DWI convictions be noted on drivers’ licenses.

The bill would mandate such information on the convicted person’s driver’s license after the first offense. The designation would remain on the license for up to four years and would only be removed if the person received no additional drunk driving convictions during that time.

Inman’s announcement noted that in 2005, there were 16,885 alcohol-related fatalities, which accounted for 39 percent of the total traffic fatalities for the year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Of those 16,885 fatalities, 86 percent were killed in crashes where at least one driver had a Blood Alcohol Content of .08 or higher. As of May 2007, all 50 states have adopted .08 as the BAC level to determine whether a person is “legally drunk.”

In Oklahoma, 283 out of 802 total traffic fatalities were alcohol related in 2005, the highest number of alcohol-related traffic deaths since 1997.

Source: Oklahoma House of Representatives, www.lsb.state.ok.us/