The state of North Carolina already has some of the strictest and most enforced laws in the nation in regards to drunk driving. Beginning in 2000, any person who is convicted of DWI and has their driver's license reinstated will not be able to drink and drive. Furthermore, as opposed to an alcohol concentration of 0.08, these drivers will lose their license if they have limits of 0.00 to 0.04, depending upon their driving record. As of now, repeat offenders are forced to install an ignition interlock system, where the car will not start if the driver has been drinking. However, the targeting of repeat offenders is not working because first time offenders are not required to use this system. In order to ensure that there are no second or third time offenders, North Carolina should make it mandatory for all driving offenders to install an ignition interlock system.

The felony DWI penalties are very impressive and do not need change. It is the misdemeanor DWI offenses that are the weakness. There are too many loopholes in the system. Through the merger of the different levels and the initiation of new mandatory policies, North Carolina would prevent people from even committing felony DWI's. Misdemeanors are the foundation to committing the felonies and if the foundation of a problem is eliminated, there can logically be no build up of a problem. North Carolina has developed a system of different misdemeanor DWI levels. For offenders who fall into one of the five levels of misdemeanor DWI, Level I being the most serious and Level V the least, the likelihood of spending time in jail has increased. Levels, V, IV, and III are all stricken of having any affect on an individual because the laws allow judges to intervene and overrule the minimum mandatory sentences. This ability should be eliminated by the state legislature. No judge should have an ability to be above the law, granted that they are the ones who aid in its enforcement.

It is also my belief that North Carolina's misdemeanor DWI levels system is too big. Levels I and II of the North Carolina misdemeanor DWI should be merged together into a reformed level I and penalties made stricter while DWI levels III, IV, and V should be merged into a revised level II with mandatory penalties as well. Jail time, community service, and especially monetary fines should be the means of discouraging driving offenders. By our human nature, money is of primary importance. The higher the fines for impaired driving are, the less likely a would-be offender is to violate North Carolina's driving laws. The reformed level II, if violated, would be punishable by a mandatory fine of one thousand dollars, a jail sentence of one full week (or one hundred sixty eight hours), and a minimum of one hundred sixty eight hours community service. The offender would also lose his/her ability to drive for an additional one-week period. This new Level II would apply only to first time offenders. Under my proposed reforms, second time offenders would be classified under the new Level I. If violated, the offender will be punished by a mandatory fine of four thousand dollars, a jail sentence of one month, and an additional five hundred hours of community service requirement. The Level I offender would also lose his/her vehicle for a mandatory time of six months. A judge or any other state official could overrule neither of the reformed Levels II or I. Third time offender would be classified as having committed a felony and would be dealt with accordingly.

Felony punishments would involve, but not be limited to, a mandatory one-year jail sentence, an eight thousand dollar fine, eight hundred additional community service hours, and permanent loss of vehicle in which violation was committed. I agree with the pre-existing law that dictates the vehicle in custody is given to the County Board of Education. Only the North Carolina Governor, through his/her pardoning ability, could overrule a mandatory sentence. Through these reforms in the North Carolina misdemeanor DWI system, potential offenders will be discouraged to drink and drive.

The North Carolina practice of dealing with underage drinking is a good one. Under the law, North Carolina had already taken a zero-tolerance stance against drivers who were under the legal drinking age and drank or used drugs illegally and then got behind the wheel. Any amount of alcohol will result in an immediate thirty-day pretrial annulment. If an underage drinking driver refuses to take such a test, he or she now need only have the smell of alcohol on the breath to be convicted of driving after drinking alcohol. This is a solid practice and I hope it is continued.

The weakness in North Carolina's drunk driving policy is, as stated before, in its foundations. The misdemeanor DWI levels must be merged into two, non-negotiable mandatory sentences. If that reform was to be executed and put into practice, and ignition interlock systems were installed in ALL offenders' vehicles, I am confident this state could see momentous success. Three hundred fifty four people should not have to die in North Carolina to realize that there is a problem. I am optimistic that someday, North Carolina will not have to deal with this problem at all.