A recent study, which was published in the Denver Post, found that about 10,000 drunk drivers that are arrested each year in Colorado have been arrested before for the same offense. From 2005 to 2007, it was found that the average number of arrests for DUI was just over 31,000. This means that roughly one in three drunk drivers is a repeat offender. Of these drunk drivers, the following was also true:
- 5,679 Colorado had at least three prior offenses
- 84 had been stopped for driving drunk at least 10 times
- 5 had more than 20 prior offenses
To combat this issue, the state of Colorado dropped its threshold for a DUI to 0.08 from 0.10. However, this change was made in 2004 and little improvement has occurred.
Some discussion has been put forth to make drunk driving a felony after a certain number of occurrences. Most states send convicted drunk drivers to prison after so many offenses, however, in Colorado; there is no limit on the amount of drunk driving charges that a person can obtain in a lifetime. This has been attributed to budget problems. Organizations, such as the women of MADD and families who have lost loved ones to auto accidents involving a drunk driver, have been working to petition for a change.
