Drivers in Hillsdale County arrested for drunk driving are about as likely to face a lesser “operating while visibly impaired” charge, as with a harsher “operating while intoxicated” charge, according to state data.

But that’s not true everywhere in Michigan.

A Bridge Michigan analysis of Michigan State Police data reveals penalties for drunk driving differ drastically depending on the county in which they are charged. In Plymouth, a Detroit suburb in Wayne County, more than 90% of the 858 total drinking-related convictions last year were for the lesser charge. In Grand Rapids, more than 70% of the 334 total drinking-related convictions were for the harsher one.

Close to 49% of the 83 drinking-related convictions in Hillsdale County were for the lesser charge, while about 46% were for the heavier penalty, according to the 2022 data. The distribution matches the state average 50-50 split of “impaired” and “intoxicated” convictions.

“The penalties are slightly different,” Hillsdale County Prosecutor Neal Brady said. “But from a practical standpoint that doesn’t matter because the penalty range is broad enough that impaired driving falls within what could happen on a drunk-driving case as well. In other words, they’re not really given that much of a break.”

The “impaired” charge includes a 90-day license restriction, four driving points, and a fine. The “intoxicated” charge includes a 30-day license suspension and a 150-day restriction, two more points, as well as potential for a heavier fine.

Nearly half of motorists arrested for drunk driving received a plea deal, according to Bridge Michigan. 

Branch County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Stempien said prosecutors generally decide if the driver faces the more or less severe charge in a plea agreement.

“As for the actual plea agreement, whether or not we reduce the charge from the OWI to the ‘impaired’ — that’s always within the discretion of the prosecutor,” Stempien said. “The judge can’t really reduce the charge without our approval or our offer.”

Neighboring Branch County shows a split in convictions similar to Hillsdale, with 52 percent of the 132 convictions for the more severe “intoxicated” charge and 42 percent for the lesser offense.

Harsher penalties are more common in the western part of the state. State Sen. Joe Bellino, R-Monroe, who represents Hillsdale, Lenawee, and Monroe counties, said this may be due to differing religious and cultural attitudes toward drinking.

“It’s a whole different culture out there,” Bellino said. “The Dutch Reformed religion shuns alcohol. So the west side of the state is a little different from the east side. The culture is different. The politics are different. We tend to be a little more liberal on the east side and give people more chances.”

Stempien said the disparity may be due to sobriety courts in the urban areas that offer lighter penalties.

“My best guess, with the difference between our county and others, is many of the larger counties will have drunk-driving courts or OWI courts,” Stempien said. “Oftentimes, if you’re going to go into that sort of a diversionary court process or probation, they typically would just have them plea as charged and enter that process.”

The main difference between the two crimes is license sanctions, he said. 

“Oftentimes in sobriety courts, the defendant is allowed to keep his driving privileges, eliminating the main discrepancy in the two statutes,” Stempien said.

Branch County, he said, does not have a sobriety court.

Brady said there is “no quantifiable deterrent effect” between one charge or the other.

“People who have drunk alcohol and get into a car to drive do not consider the relative differences between being convicted of impaired driving versus drunk driving and which they may likely be convicted of based upon the county,” Brady said.

More than 26,700 drivers were charged with drunk driving in Michigan last year, according to Bridge Michigan.

Bellino said he went to rehab for alcoholism 40 years ago and still attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

“When I was 25 I got sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Bellino said. “My father was going to fire me for my job. I was engaged to get married and knew it was not going to last if I kept drinking and drugging.”

Bellino in 2021 sponsored a bipartisan bill to allow one-time OWI offenders who met certain conditions to wipe their first offense from their record five years after probation ends. The law was passed and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“I try to help as many people get sober as I can,” Bellino said. “That’s my goal in life. It’s not to be a senator. It wasn’t to be a representative. It is my main thing in life that God has asked me to do.”