Nineteen
states were already subject to the penalty before this year, and 14 more are
having funds held in reserve while the Federal Highway Administration finishes
its assessment of their laws.
Penalized
states would have to spend federal funds on anti-drunken
driving programs,
safety improvements
·
Nineteen states
faced penalty before this year
·
Safety advocates
say it's too easy for states to shift funding between construction and safety
budgets
WASHINGTON – Two-thirds of the states could be restricted in how
they spend some of their federal highway funds this year because they haven't
complied with mandates to combat drunken driving.
A combined $539 million would have to be spent on
anti-drunken-driving programs or highway safety improvements instead of on
general road and bridge construction in those states.
That's the penalty for not having sufficient laws to restrict
open alcohol containers in vehicles or to crack down on repeat drunken-driving
offenders.
Nineteen states were already subject to the penalty before this
year, and 14 more are having funds held in reserve while the Federal Highway Administration
finishes its assessment of their laws.
Jack Basso, chief operating officer of the American Association
of State Highway and Transportation Officials, said it appears that the federal
government has tightened its application of the rules.
"Probably they are within their authority," Basso
said. "The question is, is it really achieving the spirit of the
law?"
Federal officials say they had to review states' drunken-driving
laws after Congress updated federal highway programs last year, including
making changes to some of the compliance requirements. Some states fell short
because the federal requirements had changed, while others had reworked their
own laws without notifying the federal government as required.
Read More at http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/01/drunk-driving-states-federal-funds/1883819/
This is an important issue, because the use of alcoholic beverages is one thing that I enjoy, but being responsible in their use is something that I am passionate about. I feel like the Florida Keys with all of the bars and venues to enjoy a cocktail, wine or beer does a very good job of keeping the drunk drivers off of the street. There are two ways for this to work, law enforcement and drives to promote the personal responsibility of individuals and friends of individuals that tend to drink to much, then slide behind the wheel. The individual responsibility method is always the best, but if you don't heed the warnings, you could easily loose more that the binge was worth. Please Drink Responsibly, and help your friends do so also. I hate to see my friends faces on the Sheriffs blog page for DUI or even worse, on the Obituary page. ;o)
