
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 24, 1993                   TAG: 9311240150
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

MADD: STATE MEDIOCRE ON ENFORCEMENT

While Gov. Douglas Wilder lauded his efforts to curb drunken driving Tuesday, Mothers Against Drunk Driving said Virginia deserves only a "C" for its handling of the problem.

Wilder recounted his administration's accomplishments as he proclaimed December as Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month.

"In Virginia, we take cracking down on impaired drivers very seriously," Wilder said in a ceremony on the Capitol steps.

He said Virginia this year became the first state to pass a "use and lose" law that restricts driving privileges for adults caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

A similar law for juveniles has led to the convictions of more than 5,000 youths during the past four years, he said.

Wilder said 45 percent of all highway deaths in Virginia last year were related to alcohol, down slightly from recent years. Police made more than 40,107 arrests for driving under the influence, compared with 45,309 in 1991.

But MADD said Virginia does worse than the nation as a whole in combating drunken driving. MADD released a report in Washington giving the country a "B-minus" in dealing with the drunken driving problem. Virginia earned a "C" and seven states got "D" grades.

The ratings were based on whether states had acted on a number of issues MADD considers vital to reducing DUI deaths, including strong enforcement, youth education, victims' compensation and adequate funding.

Two of MADD's priorities for the 1994 Virginia General Assembly are bills that have failed in recent years. One would lower the level at which a driver is legally intoxicated to 0.08 percent blood alcohol content. The current limit is 0.10 percent.

The advocacy group also supports a bill to suspend for seven days the driver's license of anyone arrested for drunken driving.

Gov.-elect George Allen supports lowering the blood alcohol content limit to 0.07 percent but believes 0.08 percent is more likely to pass the assembly, said Ken Stroupe, his transition spokesman. Allen, however, opposes administrative license revocation as "an infringement on due process," Stroupe said.

by CNB