In July of 2010, Laura Fortenbury, a 17-year-old Gaston County, North Carolina, teenager was killed in a head-on collision by Howard Pasour. Pasour was drunk when he hit Fortenberry and was sentenced for second-degree murder in her death. He had three prior convictions.
Laura’s death at the hands of a repeat drunk driver sparked state lawmakers, along with Laura’s mother, Michelle Armstrong, to lead the charge to make North Carolina’s repeat drunk driver laws some of the most effective in the U.S. And it’s made Laura Fortenberry’s name synonymous with the fight against Impaired Driving.
What makes Laura’s Law noteworthy and one of our ‘12 of 2012’ is that it formalizes legal requirements for Continuous Alcohol Monitoring (CAM) bracelets for drunk drivers with aggravating factors. In particular, it extends the period of CAM monitoring, previously limited to 60 days, to as much as 4 months or more for this high-risk population.
These changes represent a paradigm shift at the lawmaker level, building on years of ignition interlock laws, which focus on monitoring vehicles, and expanding the focus to the offender and the root issue: alcohol misuse. By not just requiring CAM, but increasing the period of time an offender can be monitored, lawmakers acknowledge both the importance of keeping drunk drivers sober while they’re being monitored and monitoring them long enough to potentially impart a change in behavior that could stop their cycle of repeatedly drinking and driving.
In July of 2012, lawmakers tackled some administrative items in the language of the law that have now streamlined the ability of officials statewide to fully integrate CAM into both pretrial and probation requirements. In addition to use on high-risk drunk drivers, CAM bracelets can also be used on parents seeking custody or visitation with children if a judge believes alcohol misuse is at issue.
Laura’s Law has made North Carolina a proving ground for CAM-related laws. Arizona, Nebraska, New York, and Illinois all have legislation in varying stages that look at allowing and requiring CAM monitoring for repeat, Hardcore Drunk Drivers, and more are expected in 2013.
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