GREEN BAY, Wis. (WTAQ) - State officials say it’s too early to tell if Wisconsin’s new drunk driving law has made an impact.
In the Green Bay area, Brown County sheriff’s deputies made 25 percent fewer OWI arrests than the previous year in July, the first month the law took effect.
Patrol division chief Randy Schultz said any number of reasons could have been behind the decrease. He says it might take up to 5 years to say for sure whether the law is working.
Starting July 1st, four-time drunk driving became a felony if it happened within 5 years of a third offense. More people had to use sobriety tubes to start their vehicles.
A host of fines and fees were raised. And first-time OWI became a criminal misdemeanor for those caught with kids in their vehicles.
For now, authorities can only guess why drunk driving arrests go down. Schultz said the weak economy might have folks going out less.
In the city of Green Bay, police say drunk driving arrests are on pace to be about the same as in 2008 – but fewer than the record of 1,298 in 2009. Just over two dozen people in Green Bay and Brown County were arrested for OWI during the Labor Day weekend – when the state had its “Over the Limit, Under Arrest” campaign going.
