New drunk driving bills proposed in Rhode Island Senate

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A total of 11 new bills aimed at strengthening reckless and drunk driving laws and increasing penalties have been proposed in the Senate.

• 2026-S 2288, prohibits defendants who are serving probation for driving under the influence death resulting from earning good time off their probationary period.
• 2026-S 2296, criminalizes and sets mandatory minimum sentences for the unlawful interference with traffic upon the federal and state highways of this state.
• 2026-S 2402, increases penalties for a variety of motor vehicle offenses.
• 2026-S 2403, requires that the license plates of a vehicle be confiscated by a police officer if the owner was arrested for driving while their license was suspended, revoked or cancelled for refusing to submit to a chemical test or for operating under the influence.
• 2026-S 2482, amends the section of law relative to violations for driving after denial, revocation or suspension of a license and expands the list of offenses for which an unlicensed motorist would be in violation.
• 2026-S 2493, increases the penalties for reckless driving from a misdemeanor first offense to a felony, with a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of between $1,000 and $5,000.
• 2026-S 2310, increases the penalties for a first offense of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death to a minimum 10 years in incarceration, a minimum of $10,000 and a minimum license revocation of 10 years.
• 2026-S 2717, adds criminal penalties for operation of a motor vehicle after a suspension for lack of physical or mental fitness, or as a result of frequency of offenses or as result of a court ordered suspension.
• 2026-S 2970, requires that any person convicted of a charge of driving under the influence or refusal to submit to a chemical test, have an ignition interlock system installed in their vehicle as part of any sentence before being eligible for a license reinstatement.
• 2026-S 3102, provides for a single, increased range of penalties for all driving offenses which result in serious bodily injury or death.
• 2026-S 3103, amends existing expungement laws to be consistent with the new 10-year lookback period required for DUI charges.