Sobering Up

Despite the fact that all 50 states have implied consent laws, which dole out punishment for refusal to take a sobriety test, refusals are still common practice in many states, and it’s letting repeat drunk drivers who are well versed in their state laws walk away from DUI convictions. Implied consent laws apply penalties to [...]

New York’s groundbreaking Leandra’s Law had its first official challenge last month when an offender sentenced to the mandatory year of ignition interlock challenged his sentence after failing to install the system in the required timeframe, then failing subsequent uploads and tests. Ernan Perez’s challenge represents the first reported one to the state law, but [...]

On June 15th and the 30th Annual Lifesavers Conference in Orlando, NHTSA  Administrator David Strickland presented the agency’s top Public Service Awards to 15 advocates and organizations. Among those recognized for their contributions was Stephen K. Talpins, CEO of the National Partnership on Alcohol Misuse and Crime, an organization that AMS proudly sponsors. NHTSA honored [...]

Given the current political climate in this election year and the propensity for members of congress to “kick the can” down the road, it is encouraging to see positive steps being taken to move the Federal Transportation Reauthorizaton Bill forward. Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL) announced today that House and Senate conferees [...]

According to the Los Angeles Times, a little known California law has caused an astounding increase in the number of paroles who were taken off supervision in April. About 8,500 parolees were taken off supervision in April , more than six times the 1,300 discharged in March. Under the new law, parolees who were last [...]

We Walk Like MADD, we Race for a Cure, and we also walk for electronic monitoring. At least that’s what residents of Dexter, Maine, did June 17th when they held the second annual Amy, Coty, Monica, Memorial 5k Race/Walk to End Domestic Violence, as reported in the Bangor Daily News. Amy Lake and her two children, [...]

Today marks the opening of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals 18th Annual Drug Court Training Conference in Nashville, where 4,000 criminal justice professionals will meet to learn, engage, share, and participate in one of the most significant trends in our country: therapeutic jurisprudence. It’s a fancy phrase that describes a substantial, systemic paradigm [...]

Alcohol Monitoring Systems applauds the New York State Senate, and in particular the leadership of Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R-Merrick),  with the passage of S6636.  The new law is intended to strengthen Leandra’s Law, which was signed into law in 2011, and mandated ignition interlock for every convicted DUI offender in every vehicle they [...]

In late February, AB2127 was introduced in California by Assemblyman Roger Hernández (D-West Covina). This bill would allow convicted drunk drivers to participate in educational, vocational, substance abuse, life skills, or parenting programs in lieu of community service. It would also allow regular worked hours to count toward community services. If passed, the decision to [...]

The National Traffic Safety Board is hosting their first-ever two-day forum focused on eliminating substance-impaired driving. Reaching Zero is being held May 15-16 in Washington, D.C., where representatives from academia, research and advocacy organizations, industry, and state and federal agencies will attend and serve as panelists. The goal of the forum is to identify actions [...]