RI not doing enough to prevent DUI

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Rhode Island is among 25 states not doing enough to prevent drunk driving, according to the National Transporation Safety Board. The findings come a year after the Target 12 Investigators revealed that Rhode Island was one of the weakest in the country when it came to keeping repeat drunk drivers off the road.

The NTSB is now calling on the states that have been "unresponsive" to previous suggestions to make bolder moves in addressing drunk driving accidents and deaths.

"After significant progress in the 1980s and early 1990s, we appear to have grown complacent," said Mark V. Rosenker, NTSB acting-chairman in a webcast Tuesday morning. "But, complacency when we lose 17,000 lives a year is not acceptable. Crashes, injuries and deaths from preventable behavior are not acceptable."

Rosenker cited several improvements Rhode Island can make to crack down on the number of people who drink and then get behind the wheel.

The agency has 11 steps states can take to combat hard-core drunk drivers, which it defines as repeat offenders with a prior DWI arest or conviction within the past 10 years or those driving with a blood alcohol content of .15 or greater.

The steps include sobriety checkpoints and road blocks, a look-back period of at least 10 years for drunk driving arrests, and legislation to restrict plea bargains. However, Rhode Island is one of only six states that fails to address four or more of the NTSB recommendations.