Drunken driving opponents want the state to take a hard line with repeat offenders, but that may not be as easy as it sounds.

Groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving say the current laws are good, but plea bargains and reduced charges are letting repeat offenders off too easily.

The state Division of Motor Vehicles said that drunken drivers are more than twice as likely to face the administrative penalty of losing a driver's license than they are to face criminal conviction.

But Cabell County Chief Circuit Judge Alfred Ferguson said plea bargains are needed because the criminal justice system is overburdened.

Ferguson said that if every drunken driver asked for a jury trial, the court system in West Virginia would grind to a halt.

Between 2004 and 2007, there were more than 17,000 drunken driving convictions in West Virginia.