North Carolina Father Uses Social Media to Pressure Lawmakers to Change DWI Laws

An Eden, North Carolina, father is trying to change the state’s DWI laws through the use of social media.

On July 21, 2012, Kevin London received a knock at the door from a State Trooper that he knew. The officer informed him that his two daughters, Meredith, 19, and Taylor, 23, had died in a car crash.

The girls’ friend had been the driver, and she had also been drunk and under the age of 21.

Yet two years after the tragedy, London decided to effect change to prevent more accidents like this one from occurring.

Now an advocate for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, London has begun a social media campaign to change the DWI laws in North Carolina and pass the All Offender Ignition Interlock Law.

When interviewed, London said that current research from the Center for Disease Control estimates that most drunk drivers who do get caught have driven without getting caught approximately 80 times before.

Last week, London shared a video with the state’s General Assembly in an effort to change laws to require ignition interlock, a breathalyzer-style device that controls the car’s ignition, for all convicted drink drivers.

Right now, North Carolina only requires interlock devices for people who refused breathalyzer tests, repeat drunk driving offenders or first time offenders with a blood alcohol concentration of .15 or higher.

“I think that is an excellent example of how social media can help bring about an important change in the law,” says Jason H. Reece, Senior Attorney at the Law Office Of Jason H. Reece. “In fact, I’ve been advocating for the ignition interlock device for all offenders for years now. Its a proven and effective tool to combat drunk driving. I hope this father’s campaign is successful.”

As London says of his daughters in the video, “The plans we had the next day of cooking fried green tomatoes, and the weekend beach trip the following week, never happened… North Carolina needs to pass lifesaving legislation to ensure that innocent people like Taylor and Meredith and many others, are not killed.”