I’m of two minds about this. Maybe it shouldn’t be available to drivers who are egregiously drunk, they’re so dangerous on the road:
Should New Jersey implement diversion programs for first-time DUI offenders? Under current law, first-time offenders in New Jersey lose their driver’s license for a minimum of three months up to one year. They also face thousands of dollars in court costs, fees, and surcharges. The offense also stays on their record for life.
Other states offer diversion programs for first-time offenders, and if successfully completed, the offense is removed from their record. Organizations that fight against drunk driving, like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), are open to New Jersey implementing diversion programs that would wipe a first-time offender’s record clean, but stress any program needs to have certain requirements attached to it.
One requirement would be the offender would have to have an interlock ignition device (IID) in their vehicle for at least six months. These devices are actually breathalyzers that the driver has to blow into. If the IID registers alcohol, the vehicle does not start. Last year, IIDs prohibited 350,000 vehicles from starting because the driver had alcohol in their system. Approximately 15,000 of those attempts were right here in New Jersey.
A spokesperson for MADD stressed that if a diversion is developed properly, it can give an offender incentive to “put their life back together.”
Under current New Jersey, some of the penalties first-time offenders face include minimum three months loss of license, up to 30 days in jail, up to a $400 fine, mandatory alcohol education and classes (with fees paid by offender), and an annual $1,000 insurance surcharge for three years. There are additional penalties for people who have a high blood alcohol content, including mandatory IID for six months.
Attorney Fabriele said he thinks that a diversion program in New Jersey is a good idea. “Although there are habitual offenders on the road, many people who are charged with their first DUI don’t fall into that category and just made a bad error in judgment.”
No.