More Patrols, Stiffer Penalties Promised In 2006

BOSTON -- This New Year's Eve, local police departments are promising stepped-up patrols and stiffer penalties for repeat drunken drivers under a new law that goes into effect in 2006.

NewsCenter 5's Ron Gollobin reported that Melanie's Law will take effect on Jan.1 at 12:01 a.m. The law requires stiffer penalties for repeat offenders and allows prosecutors to use prior drunken driving convictions against repeat offenders at their sentencing.

Police arrested about 1,700 people in 2005 between the end of October and mid-December. About 700 of those arrested had at least one prior conviction. This weekend, there will be additional patrols.

"From Berkshire County to the Cape and all across Massachusetts, there are police looking for impaired drivers," Governor's Highway Safety Bureau spokesman Brook Chipman said.

Offenders who refuse a breathalyzer could face lifetime license suspension. At local bars, fake Ids will be confiscated.

"It's the night where people feel that if they leave not intoxicated, they didn’t do a good job. It's our job to make sure that doesn’t happen" The Rack owner Paul Barclay said.

"You get a lot of people who normally don't drink or they don't drink regularly. They have a few too many drinks, and sometimes they go over the line a little bit," Common Ground owner Mike Moxley said.

Federal funds pay for extra patrols and sobriety checkpoints on highways and local roads.

"They need to find a sober designated driver in advance before they head out. They need to think about taxis and mass transit as options," Chipman said.