A new law went into effect in July 2011 in the state of Washington making it mandatory for a vehicle driven by a person arrested for DUI (driving under the influence) to be towed and remain impounded for a 12-hour period.
Origins of Hailey’s Law
The new law, Senate Bill 5000, is also called "Hailey’s Law" in honor of Hailey Huntley. Hailey’s tragedy occurred in 2007 when a drunk driver was arrested for DUI. After processing the driver, and since there was no room for her in the jail, a state trooper drove her home. From home, the driver called a taxi in order to retrieve her vehicle.
Still impaired, the driver got behind the wheel and ended up in a head-on collision with Hailey Huntley. Huntley sued the County and State Patrol for damages and was awarded over $5 million. Huntley has undergone more than 16 surgeries related to injuries sustained in the accident.
In the past, police were often faced with a quandary: a lack of jail space for arrested drivers but no mandate to impound a DUI-involved car. The 2011 Legislature passed Hailey’s Law to protect others on the road, as well as the driver. The law’s primary intent is to keep impaired drivers from getting back behind the wheel before they have had enough time to sober up.
How the Law Works
The car must remain at the towing company for 12 hours (with three exceptions). This means that a sober friend in the car may not drive it home from the arrest scene and neither may a family member come and retrieve it from the roadside where the arrest occurred.
Though, to some, it may appear punitive, the law’s supporters are quick to point out that punishment is determined and meted out by the court at a later date.
There are three exceptions to the mandatory 12-hour impound provision in the new law:
- If the vehicle is owned by a person other than the person who was arrested, and the owner was not in the car at the time of the arrest, the owner may reclaim the car at the towing company lot.
- If the car is registered to a co-owner, that person may reclaim the car at the towing company before 12 hours have elapsed.
- Commercial or farm transport vehicles whose owner is not the arrested party may retrieve the vehicle from the site of the arrest. This is the only case in which the vehicle is not required to be towed.
DUI Statistics
A few statistics help put the law into perspective. Washington state police arrest roughly 40,000 impaired drivers annually. While Washington’s highway fatality rate has been declining, the number of people killed by impaired drivers in the state is not keeping pace.
For those who wonder if it is unfair to impound the car of a person not yet convicted of drunk driving, consider that in 2008 police made 40,205 DUI arrests. According to the Transportation Department of Washington State, a scant 185 of those cases resulted in acquittals.
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