With new tougher penalties for repeat drunken drivers going into effect this past weekend, local law enforcement continues to make arrests as part of the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign. Meanwhile Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Bill Tadych says he thinks the new owi penalties that increase maximum sentences for repeat drunken drivers will have a deterrent effect. “I think some of it is the Wisconsin culture, the drinking culture, but as we increase these penalties I think you’re starting to see some compliance,” Tadych told WFDL news. The new law makes a fourth offense a felony regardless of when its committed. Tadych says Wisconsin is still the only state that doesn’t criminalize a first offense.
