COLUMBIA, S.C. — Authorities across South Carolina are fed up that drunken driving cases are repeatedly getting thrown out even though suspects are caught on camera.
South Carolina leads the nation in deadly accidents caused by drunk drivers.
Attorneys walked Eyewitness News reporter Greg Suskin through dashcam evidence Tuesday to show how suspected drunk drivers are getting off getting the charges dropped.
South Carolina has passed tougher laws against drunk drivers, but loopholes have made it hard to get convictions.
The blood alcohol level of a drunk driver in was three times the legal limit but because you can't see his feet during a roadside sobriety test on dashcam video, a judge threw out the case.
"Police in South Carolina have their proverbial hands tied when it comes to the DUI laws," York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant said in Columbia to dozens of officers, prosecutors and victims' advocates who say the laws are not working.
Police are being hit with the reality that the video cameras they installed to help them make cases have instead hurt them.
"A person should not be able to create his own defense by walking off the camera," Bryant said.
But that's what drunk drivers are doing and getting away with it.
In one case, it was too dark to see a man's head on camera, so his charges were dropped.
Another video shows a drunken woman doing the heel-to-toe walk.
"As she did the heel-to-toe test walking toward the camera, her left foot was obscured by her right foot," solicitor Kevin Brackett said.
The sheriff said his deputies see that a lot.
A new bill would loosen rules about the use of dashcam video, making it easier for officers to prove a case.
Lawmakers said the bill has been introduced and if it passes they said the result is simple -- more drunk drivers will actually be punished for their crimes.
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