South Carolina DUI reform bill stalls as state leads nation in deaths

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina had the highest rate of DUI deaths per capita in the country in 2022, with 474 people killed in drunk driving crashes.

Advocates have long pushed for reform to the state’s DUI law, which they say is riddled with loopholes that make prosecutions impossible and impose weak penalties. A bill filed again this session would add around a dozen substantial changes to the state’s laws.

But with a few weeks left in this legislative session, Mothers Against Drunk Driving Executive Director Steven Burritt says this past week’s Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on the bill will likely be the last time it’s discussed before lawmakers wrap in May.

“My fear is that seven months from now, that momentum may not be as strong,” said Burritt. “But our job is going to be to continue to tell the stories, to share the statistics, to talk about why this is a massive issue in South Carolina.”

One of the reforms in the bill would modernize the state’s DUI statutes by tightening rules around dash cam video used in prosecutions, which Burritt said can currently lead to cases being thrown out over minor technical issues.

“It’s not just bad luck that we are the nation’s worst for drunk driving,” said Steven Burritt, the regional executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “It is because we have an incredibly flawed DUI law.”

The proposal would also create a new felony charge for causing moderate bodily injury while driving under the influence, which would carry a greater penalty than regular DUI. Under state law right now, crashes have to meet a high threshold to be considered “great bodily injury,” but this new penalty would create a middle tier for offenses that would otherwise only be penalized with a DUI.

It also includes other measures like requiring ignition interlock devices for those who refuse breathalyzer tests and mandating child support payments from drunk drivers who kill a parent or guardian.

“We just have to have a law that actually works to keep people safe, instead of a law that twists itself into pretzels to get people out of their charges,” Burritt said.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said the bill was a priority going into session, despite it now being several steps away from the governor’s desk.

“Our laws are not very tough at all,” Massey said. “Frankly, you rarely see anybody convicted of DUI in South Carolina. We absolutely have to change those laws.”

If lawmakers do not finish in May, the bill could be carried over to the next session.

“It’s something that we really need to do,” he said. “We have something further along in the process this year than we’ve had in years past. I just wish we would have been about a month earlier in getting it along.”

If it does not pass, Massey said it would be a top priority for lawmakers to send it to the governor before the end of 2026.