MN moves to strengthen DWI laws after fatal St. Louis Park crash

Minnesota lawmakers are moving to strengthen the state s laws on people who repeatedly drink and drive in the wake of a crash last year that killed two people and injured multiple others at a bar in St Louis Park The hope is that future tragedies will be prevented by making more repeat drunken drivers use ignition interlock devices The devices require drivers to blow air into a tube to verify whether they are under the legal blood-alcohol limit before starting a truck On Labor Day weekend in a man with a history of convictions for drinking and driving drove his motorcycle into the patio of Park Tavern leading to multiple deaths and injuries Steven Frane Bailey of St Louis Park who pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder and three counts of criminal vehicular operation causing great bodily harm on Wednesday revealed he had been drinking vodka at home before the crash He commented he drove to the Park Tavern but attempted to flee the parking lot after crashing into two cars Instead he accelerated and went through a fence onto the patio while going around mph crashing into occupied tables Charges announced Bailey had a blood-alcohol content of more than four times the legal limit of Under the terms of his plea agreement he faces to years in prison Ignition interlock If a widely supported proposal moving through the state Legislature this year becomes law Bailey would have been required to have an ignition interlock device in his wagon which could have stopped him from driving backers say Minnesota law currently requires people to get one of the devices if their driving privileges are revoked for a second alcohol or drug offense within ten years The state also requires an ignition interlock if someone has had their third offense if one or two of the offenses are over ten years old Bailey had a valid driver s license but he also had five convictions for driving under the influence between and Since his record spanned more than three decades before the fatal crash last year he wasn t required to have a device installed in his car bill backers revealed It spurred us those of us who represent St Louis Park in the Legislature to look for appropriate improvements to the DWI laws so that this could be prevented in the future announced bill sponsor Sen Ron Latz DFL-St Louis Park Unfortunately not everyone who should use the ignition interlock is on it Increases lookback period Latz stated his bill could reduce the likelihood of fatal crashes like the one at Park Tavern It increases the lookback period for driving while intoxicated convictions from to years It also ties the time requirement for interlock devices to the number of DWIs over a lifetime Right now the time requirement maxes out at six years when someone has four or more DWIs over a lifetime Under the new bill an interlock device would be required for years if someone had or more convictions The bill also aims to get more people to participate in the interlock plan by removing financial limitations It allows people to pay off the license reinstatement fee while participating in the interlock project rather than upfront It also increases criminal penalties for driving without an interlock if you re required to have one And there would also be a requirement that someone completes medication for addiction before graduating from the interlock activity rather than just beginning medication Senate passes version of bill The Senate took up the House version last week but unanimously passed a slightly different version of the bill Related Articles With one week left what s happening with the MN budget at the Legislature Joe Soucheray No other governor has tried to pull off this pathetic budget stunt Gov Walz encourages legislators and anglers to get the lead out Minnesota Senate OKs new anti-fraud office but much work remains Ethics panel deadlocks on complaint against Minnesota Senate President An amendment backed by Sen Bobby Joe Champion DFL-Minneapolis and adopted by the Senate creates protections for people in the interlock plan who lose their vehicles for financial reasons If someone loses their truck or if it becomes inoperable they d be able to remain in the interlock undertaking The House also overwhelmingly passed its version of the bill backed by Rep Larry Kraft DFL-St Louis Park The chambers will have to reconcile out the small differences between their bills and pass them again before a final version can head to the desk of Gov Tim Walz to be signed into law