New 24/7 Sobriety Program
CBS 57 recently did a story on the 24/7 Sobriety Program that is coming to Racine County (see video above). This great program gives drunk drivers the opportunity to choose to go through daily sobriety testing and it has been shown to reduce repeat drunk driving by almost 50% and even reduce domestic violence by 9% in other states. Drunk driving has been a problem in our state for many years. It costs our state too much money and far too many innocent lives. Last year, I co-authored the bill creating the 24/7 Sobriety Pilot Program, and I was very pleased when Racine County was chosen as one of five counties to pilot the program. Although there is no silver bullet, the 24/7 Sobriety Program is a promising tool that has been proven to be effective in other states and goes beyond just punishing drunk drivers. To enter the program, offenders must make the choice to participate and pay for the program out of their own pocket. Under the program repeat drunk drivers are given twice daily alcohol tests and routine drug testing to make sure they are staying sober. I wrote this legislation to help save lives in our state. I believe this bill will benefit all Wisconsinites by helping to reduce drunk driving, helping those who want to stay sober do so, and even reduce other crimes that often go hand-in-hand with alcohol abuse. I also designed the bill so that we can enjoy these benefits without spending any taxpayer money. This is a win-win, and I am looking forward to seeing results from the pilot program and hopefully expanding it to other counties in the future.
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