Raptakis to Reintroduce Drunk Driving Bills to Stiffen Penalties in Wake of Recent DUIs
GoLocalProv News Team
Raptakis to Reintroduce Drunk Driving Bills to Stiffen Penalties in Wake of Recent DUIs
Raptakis (D-Dist. 33, Coventry, East Greenwich, West Greenwich) said his announcement is due to a spate of recent high-profile cases of driving under the influence.
Raptakis on Record
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Raptakis cited recent DUI cases including a Coventry man who drove head-on into a police cruiser on October 8, a Providence woman who hit two State Police cruisers on November 8, and a North Kingstown woman who was sentenced to seven years on October 25 for a fatal DUI crash in East Greenwich.
Statistics released by the State Police indicate that incidences of drunken driving have increased this year. From January to April 2020, 19 drivers were charged with DUI by the State Police. This year for that same time period, that number rose to 29.
About Legislation
The first bill sponsored by Senator Raptakis would increase the penalties for those convicted of driving under the influence resulting in death and driving under the influence resulting in serious bodily injury.
The second piece of legislation would increase from 5 years to 10 years the period in which prior DUI convictions qualify a person for increased penalties for subsequent convictions.
The last bill would require the license plates of a vehicle to be confiscated if the owner is arrested for driving while the license was suspended, revoked or canceled for a number of offenses, including driving under the influence and refusing to submit to a breath test.
“From my point of view, we have done enough study. We’ve heard these bills year after year while people have continued to get hurt and killed on our roads, and the courts have allowed drunks to get back behind the wheel,” said Raptakis. “We know people drive drunk, we know they continue to drive drunk after being convicted and their license has been suspended or revoked, we know they cause damage and death. We need to act and we need to get tough.”