Photo / TRAVIS BELL Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy (left) joined Gov. Mark Sanford at the Statehouse on Monday to discuss the state's new driving under the influence law. The new law, Unlawful Operation of a Vehicle, includes graduated penalties based on the defendant's blood alcohol level. The new law went into effect Tuesday. Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy, a leading advocate for tougher DUI laws in South Carolina, was front and center Monday afternoon in Columbia when Gov. Mark Sanford and a bevy of law enforcement officials welcomed a new DUI law into effect.

Passed last year, enforcement of South Carolina's new DUI law began Tuesday. The new law links increased fines and jail terms to the level of alcohol in a drunk driver's system and ramps up penalties for repeat offenders.

The new law also removes some legal loopholes and doubles the term of a license suspension for those who refuse to take a breath test.

Gowdy, the top prosecutor for Cherokee and Spartanburg counties, had made numerous trips to Columbia in recent years to push for a tougher DUI law and was critical of any efforts to water down a tougher law.

"I am optimistic that this new DUI bill is a step in the right direction," he said Monday. "The graduated penalties for recidivists based on impairment level make common sense as does the longer suspension period for those who refuse the breathalyzer and the simplification of law enforcement's Miranda warning process."

Making highways safer remains the ultimate goal.

"What I am most interested in is a reduction in alcohol-related traffic accidents and since today is day one, it is premature to claim victory with respect to our overarching goal," he said.

According to the Department of Public Safety, at least half of all the people killed on South Carolina's roadways in 2008 were involved in DUI-related collisions.