The Victims of Drunk Drivers Memorial at Pacific View Mortuary and Memorial Park in Corona del Mar on Sept. 24, 2025. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters
California used to be a leader in the anti-drunk driving movement.
A Sacramento mother started MADD, helping create some of the nation’s toughest DUI laws in the 1980s. They worked: California cut alcohol-related roadway fatalities by more than half.
A new CalMatters investigation shows that things have changed, dramatically. California now has some of the weakest DUI laws in the nation, allowing repeat drunk and drugged drivers to stay on the road with little punishment.
The results have been deadly:
Alcohol-related roadway deaths in California have shot up by more than 50% in the past decade — an increase more than twice as steep as the rest of the country.
More than 1,300 people die each year statewide in drunken collisions. Again and again, repeat DUI offenders cause the crashes.
Reporters Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler found that California too often fails to differentiate between drunk drivers who made a dangerous mistake but learn from it, and those who refuse to stop endangering lives.
Here, drivers generally can’t be charged with a felony until their fourth DUI within 10 years, unless they injure someone. In some states, a second DUI can be a felony.
California gives repeat drunk drivers their licenses back faster than other states. We found drivers with as many as six DUIs who were able to get a license in California.
Many drivers stay on the road for years even when the state does take their license — racking up tickets and even additional DUIs. We found one woman who has 16 DUIs. Repeat offenders rarely face serious consequences until they kill.
Despite the mounting death toll, state leaders at all levels have shown little willingness to address the issue. Victims’ families are left in anguish to contemplate how the state allowed their loved ones to be killed.
Sarah Villar was walking the dog with her fiance when a driver with three DUI convictions killed her. Her parents buried her in her wedding dress.
Dave Villar, Sarah’s father: “To the broken justice system that allowed this to happen — shame on you. If I walked out my front door today onto my porch and fired a shot into my neighborhood every day until I killed someone, when would I be a menace to society? When do I become a danger to my community? I say it’s after the first shot. Our system says it’s after the last.”
This is the latest installment in our License to Kill project, detailing how California allows deadly drivers to stay on the road.
Read the full story here, and the takeaways here.
And catch up on the rest of the series:
🗓️CalMatters Events in your community:
Sacramento: Join CalMatters and Capitol Impact on Nov. 7 for a watch party of the Health Matters: A Conversation with California’s Next Governor forum. Candidates for California’s next governor will respond directly to community voices about what matters most for health — from clean air and safe housing, to good jobs and strong families. Register.
San Jose: What will power California’s AI future? Join us Nov. 18 for a timely conversation on how California can balance the rapid rise of AI-driven data centers with its clean-energy goals. Register.
Other Stories You Should Know
Prop. 50 payoff?
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a rally about redistricting at the Democracy Center at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles on Aug. 14, 2025. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters
With only a few days until Election Day, what started out as a mere threat on a July social media post could turn out to be Gov. Gavin Newsom pulling off one of his biggest political gambles.
As CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang explains, Proposition 50 is polling ahead with likely voters and Newsom took the rare step Monday to urge supporters to stop donating money — an apparent sign of the governor’s confidence that the measure would pass.
Though the gerrymander proposal was a risk for Newsom, it has also raised his political profile: Former President Barack Obama joined him in promoting Prop. 50, and Newsom’s approval as a 2028 Democratic presidential candidate rose from 12% in June to 25% in August, according to a national Emerson College poll.
But there’s no guarantee Democrats would gain control of the House if Prop. 50 were to pass. Nationwide, voters are also more concerned about crime and the economy than issues related to protecting Democracy, the ostensible goal of Prop. 50.
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist: “There’s still a long way to go, as to whether this passing will leapfrog (Newsom) further than he has already. It’s just not a vote-driver for most Americans.”
Changing toxic waste rules
An aerial view of the UC Berkeley campus in Berkeley on Nov. 28, 2022. Photo by Jane Tyska, East Bay Times via Getty Images
A proposal from state regulators to lift reporting requirements for tracking toxic waste has environmental advocates ringing alarm bells, writes CalMatters’ Alejandra Reyes-Velarde.
To track hazardous waste in California, businesses must make detailed reports that include what toxic materials are in what containers, where the waste is coming from and where it’s heading. These reports both help generators of waste prove they’re following regulations and aid emergency responders in case there’s an accident during transport.
But the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control is considering relaxing some of these tracking rules when companies are transporting waste within their own properties and along some public roads. The University of California, which is one of the over 200 hazardous waste producers that would be affected by the change, supports the proposal, arguing it would make disposal processes safer and more efficient.
Critics, however, fear that the change would signal intent to loosen more rules to manage California’s growing waste problem. State regulators also haven’t clarified specific details, such as how many miles hazardous waste may travel without being tracked.
A new university in Chula Vista
Graduating students during a commencement ceremony at Southwestern College in Chula Vista on May 24, 2024. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters
Newsom signed a bill in September that reserves land and creates a task force to guide the development of Chula Vista University — a new university that plans to open in 2027 in San Diego County’s South County. The university promises a novel approach to higher education that combines programs from nearby UC San Diego, two California State universities and a community college. Read more from CalMatters’ Deborah Brennan.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: On the week of the Erie Canal’s 200th anniversary, it’s unfortunate to consider how the last decades of the 20th Century and the first decades of the 21st have been a period of stasis in public works in California.
CalMatters contributor Jim Newton: Plans to put up a $2-million fence around Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park have divided residents who argue that the fence would either make the park safer or further marginalize unhoused people.
Other things worth your time:
Fired by Team Trump, former US attorney joins team Newsom // The New York Times
Court disqualifies Trump-appointed US attorney in LA from overseeing multiple criminal cases // AP News
Here’s what’s at stake for Californians whose districts could get rewritten by Proposition 50 // KQED
Immigration agents are raiding CA hospitals and clinics. Can a new state law prevent that? // Los Angeles Times
Some Sacramento-area food banks aren’t prepared for withholding of SNAP funds // The Sacramento Bee
SF will cover SNAP recipients’ missed payments. But the rest of the Bay Area is panicking // San Francisco Chronicle
Judge rules Trump’s top federal prosecutor in LA is ‘unlawfully serving’ // Los Angeles Times
Can San Diego be a crucial part of a Silicon Valley for nuclear fusion? // The San Diego Union-Tribune
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Lynn La is the newsletter writer for CalMatters, focusing on California’s top political, policy and Capitol stories every weekday. She produces and curates WhatMatters, CalMatters’ flagship daily newsletter…
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