Drunk Driving Laws Changing in December

Anyone who drinks, drives, and gets caught once December arrives is going to find that it's not so easy to get off any more. New laws that go into effect December 1 are considerably tougher than current ones.

The state held a public meeting Thursday at Broughton High School to let drivers know what they're in for. The school was chosen deliberately because it was recently affected by a drunk driving tragedy.

Frank Nicholson was hit by a drunk driver in September of last year, and was critically injured. He and his family were on hand at the meeting to drive home the point about cracking down on habitually drunk drivers. His father, Grover Nicholson, said the man who struck his son had already been repeatedly punished under current law, yet was still behind the wheel.

The new legislation allows law enforcement to impound repeat offenders' vehicles and allow officers to test those who are arrested for other drugs. Sentence will also be tougher.

Frank Nicholson is now a junior at Broughton. He was on his way to school last year when he was hit. This past spring, Broughton students marched to the State Capitol in a show of support for tougher laws.