Griffin, J.
The principal issue in these consolidated criminal appeals is whether the habitual offender act1 may be used to enhance a sentence otherwise applicable to a felony conviction under the Motor Vehicle Code2 for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (ouil).3 It is argued by defendants that the two sentencing schemes stand in conflict, and that the provisions specifically applicable to a felony ouil conviction under the Motor Vehicle Code should prevail as against the general habitual offender statute. We find that the statutes in question do not conflict; rather, they "dovetail harmoniously . . . .”4 We conclude that the Legislature intended, as indicated by the plain meaning of the habitual offender act, that it be applicable to third and subsequent ouil convictions.
[60]*60I
A. PEOPLE V BEWERSDORF
After entering guilty pleas, Kim Bewersdorf was convicted of the felony of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, third offense, MCL 257.625(6); MSA 9.2325(6), and of being an habitual offender, second offense, MCL 769.10; MSA 28.1082. Defendant was charged with ouil-3, a felony, because his record included two prior misdemeanor ouil convictions within the preceding ten years. In addition, defendant had previously been convicted of the felony of breaking and entering an occupied building with intent to commit larceny, MCL 750.110; MSA 28.305.
Prior to sentencing, the circuit judge advised defendant that he was subject to a maximum prison sentence of seven and one-half years. It was explained that, absent the felony conviction for breaking and entering, defendant would have been subject under the Motor Vehicle Code to a maximum prison sentence of five years for the current ouil-3 felony. However, because this ouil-3 offense is a second felony conviction, the maximum prison sentence was enhanced under the habitual offender act by one and one-half times, or seven and one-half years. After accepting defendant’s pleas of guilty, the court sentenced him to one year in the county jail for the ouil-3 offense, and then vacated that sentence and imposed an identical sentence for the habitual offender conviction.5
Thereafter, defendant moved to withdraw his guilty pleas, claiming that he had been inade[61]*61quately advised of his rights.6 After the motion was denied, defendant appealed and for the first time challenged the applicability of the habitual offender act.7 The Court of Appeals directed defendant’s attorney to submit a brief addressing, inter alia, the question whether
the enhancement provisions of the Habitual Offender Act, MCL 769.11; MSA 28.1083, [may] be combined with the enhancement provisions of § 625(6) of the Motor Vehicle Code to generate a maximum possible punishment of years imprisonment.[8]
Thereafter, a divided Court of Appeals panel affirmed defendant’s felony ouil-3 conviction, but vacated the habitual offender conviction. 181 Mich App 430; 450 NW2d 271 (1989). Relying on People v Tucker, 177 Mich App 174; 441 NW2d 59 (1989), the majority reasoned that the specific sentencing scheme applicable to ouil offenses under the Motor Vehicle Code "prevails to the exclusion of the general habitual-offender statute.” 181 Mich App 433.
The prosecutor applied to this Court, and we granted leave to appeal. 435 Mich 867 (1990).
[62]*62
B. PEOPLE V JOHNSON
Valentine Johnson was charged with the felony offense of ouil-3, MCL 257.625(6); MSA 9.2325(6), and as an habitual offender, second offense, MCL 769.10; MSA 28.1082. When in 1987 the current charges were brought, defendant’s record included three prior convictions: a 1978 Indiana drunk-driving misdemeanor conviction,9 a 1981 Michigan ouil misdemeanor conviction, and a 1985 Michigan conviction for unlawful blood alcohol level (ubal), third offense, which had been elevated to felony status by reason of the two previous convictions.10
In this case, defendant sought to avoid felony treatment of the current ouil charge by moving to suppress evidence of all three prior convictions on the ground that the plea-taking in each case had been subject to procedural defects.11 The circuit court granted defendant’s motion with respect to the 1978 conviction and the 1985 conviction, and remanded the case to the district court for trial of the current ouil charge as a misdemeanor.
The prosecutor then sought an interlocutory appeal,12 challenging only the circuit court’s suppression ruling with respect to the 1985 conviction.13 The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that [63]*63the procedural defect claimed by defendant with respect to the 1985 conviction could not be raised "indirectly in a subsequent proceeding charging an enhanced ouil offense.”14 The ouil-3 felony charge was reinstated, and the Court of Appeals remanded the case to the circuit court for trial.15
Defendant then appealed to this Court.16 In granting leave to appeal, we let stand the Court of Appeals rulings regarding defendant’s collateral attacks on his prior convictions, and limited our focus to the relationship and applicability of the habitual offender act to ouil felony offenses.17 435 Mich 880 (1990).
[64]*64II
It is a crime under the Motor Vehicle Code for any person (1) whose blood contains an unlawful (0.10 percent or more) blood alcohol level, or (2) who is under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance, to operate a motor vehicle upon a highway. MCL 257.625(1), (2); MSA 9.2325(1), (2).18
Upon a first conviction, the crime is treated as a misdemeanor, and the violator may be imprisoned for not more than ninety days or fined up to $500, or both. Upon a second conviction within a seven-year period, also a misdemeanor, the maximum prison sentence escalates to one year and the fine to $1,000.19
However, one who is convicted of ouil within ten years of two or more prior ouil convictions, "is guilty of a felony,”20 punishable under the Motor Vehicle Code by imprisonment for not less than one or more than five years, or by a fine of not less than $500 or more than $5,000, or both.21
While the Motor Vehicle Code declares that the third, and each subsequent ouil offense within a [65]*65ten-year period, is a felony, the code does not specifically provide for escalation of the maximum punishment for fourth and subsequent ouil convictions.22 Because the Motor Vehicle Code contains its own punishment escalation scheme, including the elevation to felony status of third and subsequent ouil oifenses, and because the code specifies a punishment for felony convictions, it is argued by defendants in these appeals that the Legislature did not intend the habitual offender act to apply to ouil felony convictions.
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Griffin, J.
The principal issue in these consolidated criminal appeals is whether the habitual offender act1 may be used to enhance a sentence otherwise applicable to a felony conviction under the Motor Vehicle Code2 for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (ouil).3 It is argued by defendants that the two sentencing schemes stand in conflict, and that the provisions specifically applicable to a felony ouil conviction under the Motor Vehicle Code should prevail as against the general habitual offender statute. We find that the statutes in question do not conflict; rather, they "dovetail harmoniously . . . .”4 We conclude that the Legislature intended, as indicated by the plain meaning of the habitual offender act, that it be applicable to third and subsequent ouil convictions.
[60]*60I
A. PEOPLE V BEWERSDORF
After entering guilty pleas, Kim Bewersdorf was convicted of the felony of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, third offense, MCL 257.625(6); MSA 9.2325(6), and of being an habitual offender, second offense, MCL 769.10; MSA 28.1082. Defendant was charged with ouil-3, a felony, because his record included two prior misdemeanor ouil convictions within the preceding ten years. In addition, defendant had previously been convicted of the felony of breaking and entering an occupied building with intent to commit larceny, MCL 750.110; MSA 28.305.
Prior to sentencing, the circuit judge advised defendant that he was subject to a maximum prison sentence of seven and one-half years. It was explained that, absent the felony conviction for breaking and entering, defendant would have been subject under the Motor Vehicle Code to a maximum prison sentence of five years for the current ouil-3 felony. However, because this ouil-3 offense is a second felony conviction, the maximum prison sentence was enhanced under the habitual offender act by one and one-half times, or seven and one-half years. After accepting defendant’s pleas of guilty, the court sentenced him to one year in the county jail for the ouil-3 offense, and then vacated that sentence and imposed an identical sentence for the habitual offender conviction.5
Thereafter, defendant moved to withdraw his guilty pleas, claiming that he had been inade[61]*61quately advised of his rights.6 After the motion was denied, defendant appealed and for the first time challenged the applicability of the habitual offender act.7 The Court of Appeals directed defendant’s attorney to submit a brief addressing, inter alia, the question whether
the enhancement provisions of the Habitual Offender Act, MCL 769.11; MSA 28.1083, [may] be combined with the enhancement provisions of § 625(6) of the Motor Vehicle Code to generate a maximum possible punishment of years imprisonment.[8]
Thereafter, a divided Court of Appeals panel affirmed defendant’s felony ouil-3 conviction, but vacated the habitual offender conviction. 181 Mich App 430; 450 NW2d 271 (1989). Relying on People v Tucker, 177 Mich App 174; 441 NW2d 59 (1989), the majority reasoned that the specific sentencing scheme applicable to ouil offenses under the Motor Vehicle Code "prevails to the exclusion of the general habitual-offender statute.” 181 Mich App 433.
The prosecutor applied to this Court, and we granted leave to appeal. 435 Mich 867 (1990).
[62]*62
B. PEOPLE V JOHNSON
Valentine Johnson was charged with the felony offense of ouil-3, MCL 257.625(6); MSA 9.2325(6), and as an habitual offender, second offense, MCL 769.10; MSA 28.1082. When in 1987 the current charges were brought, defendant’s record included three prior convictions: a 1978 Indiana drunk-driving misdemeanor conviction,9 a 1981 Michigan ouil misdemeanor conviction, and a 1985 Michigan conviction for unlawful blood alcohol level (ubal), third offense, which had been elevated to felony status by reason of the two previous convictions.10
In this case, defendant sought to avoid felony treatment of the current ouil charge by moving to suppress evidence of all three prior convictions on the ground that the plea-taking in each case had been subject to procedural defects.11 The circuit court granted defendant’s motion with respect to the 1978 conviction and the 1985 conviction, and remanded the case to the district court for trial of the current ouil charge as a misdemeanor.
The prosecutor then sought an interlocutory appeal,12 challenging only the circuit court’s suppression ruling with respect to the 1985 conviction.13 The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that [63]*63the procedural defect claimed by defendant with respect to the 1985 conviction could not be raised "indirectly in a subsequent proceeding charging an enhanced ouil offense.”14 The ouil-3 felony charge was reinstated, and the Court of Appeals remanded the case to the circuit court for trial.15
Defendant then appealed to this Court.16 In granting leave to appeal, we let stand the Court of Appeals rulings regarding defendant’s collateral attacks on his prior convictions, and limited our focus to the relationship and applicability of the habitual offender act to ouil felony offenses.17 435 Mich 880 (1990).
[64]*64II
It is a crime under the Motor Vehicle Code for any person (1) whose blood contains an unlawful (0.10 percent or more) blood alcohol level, or (2) who is under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance, to operate a motor vehicle upon a highway. MCL 257.625(1), (2); MSA 9.2325(1), (2).18
Upon a first conviction, the crime is treated as a misdemeanor, and the violator may be imprisoned for not more than ninety days or fined up to $500, or both. Upon a second conviction within a seven-year period, also a misdemeanor, the maximum prison sentence escalates to one year and the fine to $1,000.19
However, one who is convicted of ouil within ten years of two or more prior ouil convictions, "is guilty of a felony,”20 punishable under the Motor Vehicle Code by imprisonment for not less than one or more than five years, or by a fine of not less than $500 or more than $5,000, or both.21
While the Motor Vehicle Code declares that the third, and each subsequent ouil offense within a [65]*65ten-year period, is a felony, the code does not specifically provide for escalation of the maximum punishment for fourth and subsequent ouil convictions.22 Because the Motor Vehicle Code contains its own punishment escalation scheme, including the elevation to felony status of third and subsequent ouil oifenses, and because the code specifies a punishment for felony convictions, it is argued by defendants in these appeals that the Legislature did not intend the habitual offender act to apply to ouil felony convictions.
Against that background, we turn to consider the relationship and applicability of the habitual offender act to ouil felony offenses.
hi
That part of the habitual offender act applicable to second felony offenders provides in pertinent part:
(1) If a person has been convicted of a felony, . . . and that person commits a subsequent felony within this state, the person shall be punished ... as follows:
(a) If the subsequent felony is punishable upon a first conviction by imprisonment for a term less than life, then the court . . . may . . . sentence the person to imprisonment for a maximum term which is not more than 1 Vi times the longest term prescribed for a first conviction of that offense or for a lesser term.
(c) If the subsequent felony is a major controlled [66]*66substance offense, the person shall be punished as provided by part 74 of the public health code, Act No. 368 of the Public Acts of 1978, being sections 333.7401 to 333.7415 of the Michigan Compiled Laws. [MCL 769.10; MSA 28.1082, as amended by 1988 PA 90. Emphasis added.]
It is noteworthy that while the habitual offender act provides that the court "shall” punish a second felony offender in accordance with the statute, the Legislature provided that the court "may” sentence such a second offender to a maximum term of up to one and one-half times the maximum term prescribed for a first conviction, "or for a lesser term.” Since the language is permissive, not mandatory, it fixes only the upper boundaries of the court’s sentencing discretion. People v Coffee, 151 Mich App 364, 372; 390 NW2d 721 (1986), People v Voss, 133 Mich App 73; 348 NW2d 37 (1984). As Justice Levin observed in People v Hendrick, 398 Mich 410, 424; 247 NW2d 840 (1976), "the judge [is not] obliged, if the accused is convicted as an habitual offender, to impose enhanced punishment.”
We note also that these appeals do not challenge the validity of the statutes in question.23 The constitutionality of the habitual offender act has been upheld in a series of decisions, beginning with People v Palm, 245 Mich 396; 223 NW 67 (1929). See also In re Pardee, 327 Mich 13; 41 NW2d 466 (1950) (double jeopardy); People v Birmingham, 13 Mich App 402; 164 NW2d 561 (1968) (due process and equal protection); People v Potts, 55 Mich App 622; 223 NW2d 96 (1974) (cruel and unusual punishment).
[67]*67Recently, the legislative history of the habitual offender statute was extensively examined by this Court in People v Preuss, 436 Mich 714; 461 NW2d 703 (1990). Therein, Justice Cavanagh explained that the language used in the current statute closely parallels wording in a 1927 enactment, which was the outgrowth of work by a Commission of Inquiry Into Criminal Procedure. In response to the commission’s recommendations, the Legislature enacted 1927 PA 175, which revised an earlier version of the habitual offender act, § 15613 of the Compiled Laws of 1915, referred to in the commission’s report as " 'one of the oldest criminal enactments of this State ....’” Id., p 722.
As noted in Preuss, "[t]he commission’s report reflects the goal of punishing repeat offenders harshly” and the overall purpose of making it "tougher for criminals to avoid apprehension, conviction, and adequate punishment . . . .” Id., p 724. Since the Legislature adopted the commission’s proposals without change, the Preuss Court reasoned that the Legislature shared the views of the commission. Id., p 725.
Further, this Court has repeatedly stated that, by enacting the habitual offender act, " 'the legislature did not intend to make a separate substantive crime out of being an habitual criminal but rather, for deterrent purposes, intended to augment the punishment for second or subsequent felonies.’ ” People v Shotwell, 352 Mich 42, 46; 88 NW2d 313 (1958), as quoted in People v Hendrick, supra at 416-417. We said in Palm, supra, p 401, that " 'in determining the amount or nature of the penalty to be inflicted, the legislature may require the courts to take into consideration the persistence of the defendant in his criminal course.’ ” To that end, the habitual offender act "provides a procedure after conviction for the determination of [68]*68a fact which the court is required to consider in imposing sentence.” People v Judge of Recorder’s Court, 251 Mich 626, 627; 232 NW 402 (1930).
While the habitual offender act, which is found in the Code of Criminal Procedure, establishes a procedure for enhancing a sentence, it is clear that the ouil provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code establish crimes. Because ouil-3 is a separate crime, the prosecutor must prove all elements of the offense, including the prior convictions. People v Raisanen, 114 Mich App 840, 846; 319 NW2d 693 (1982).
In determining whether the Legislature intended to allow sentence enhancement of ouil felonies through application of the habitual offender statute, we are guided, of course, by the rules of statutory construction. It is fundamental that an unambiguous statute is to be given effect, although departure may be justified when a literal construction " 'would produce an absurd and unjust result and would be clearly inconsistent with the purposes and the policies of the act in question.’ ” Gobler v Auto-Owners Ins Co, 428 Mich 51, 62; 404 NW2d 199 (1987), quoting Salas v Clements, 399 Mich 103, 109; 247 NW2d 889 (1976). Statutes which may appear to conflict are to be read together and reconciled, if possible. Detroit Police Officers Ass’n v Detroit, 391 Mich 44, 65; 214 NW2d 803 (1974); People v Buckley, 302 Mich 12, 22; 4 NW2d 448 (1942). However, where two statutes actually conflict, both cannot stand as the law. Winter v Royal Oak City Manager, 317 Mich 259, 265; 26 NW2d 893 (1947); Bd of Ed v Blondell, 251 Mich 528, 531; 232 NW 375 (1930).
In the habitual offender act, the Legislature has directed that when an individual commits "a subsequent felony within this state, the person shall [69]*69be punished” in accordance with the act’s provisions. The language is clear and unambiguous; it makes no exceptions with respect to ouil felony convictions. People v Shotwell, supra, p 46.24
In the Court of Appeals, the Bewersdorf majority, relying on People v Tucker, supra, ruled that the habitual offender act may not be used to enhance defendant’s sentence for ouil-3. Although the panel in Tucker conceded that an application of the plain meaning of the habitual offender act would mean that "enhancement is clearly available . . . since the habitual offender statute clearly applies to all felonies,” 177 Mich App 179, it nevertheless chose to analyze the ouil statute and habitual offender act so as to place them in conflict. Finding that the two enactments "appear” to conflict, id., the panel ruled that the ouil sentencing provisions controlled over the more general sentence enhancement provisions in the habitual offender act.
We reject the Tucker panel’s forced construction that placed the two statutes in conflict. We prefer a course which, in the words of the dissenting Bewersdorf Court of Appeals judge, enables the two acts to "dovetail harmoniously.”25
We read the two statutes so as to give effect to [70]*70both. We find that the Legislature intended that the sentence for an ouil-3 felony, if it is a first felony conviction, shall be as provided in the Motor Vehicle Code: imprisonment for not less than one or more than five years, and a fine of not less than $500 or more than $5,000, or both. However, any subsequent ouil felony conviction is subject to the repeat offender provisions of the habitual offender act regardless of whether the underlying felony conviction is also an ouil-3 offense. We believe this is the plain meaning of the two statutes when read together, and that such a construction is consistent with the legislative purpose to deter repeated criminal acts by providing escalating punishment.26
[71]*71It is significant that, in crafting the ouil provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code, the Legislature established escalating punishment for only the first and second ouil violations, both misdemeanors, and then chose merely to provide that a third and any subsequent conviction shall be a felony. Surely, it is reasonable to assume that when the Legislature drafted the ouil provisions it was aware, and at all times since then has been aware, of the habitual offender act and its direction that any person who commits a second or subsequent felony within this state shall be punished in accordance with its terms. If we were to adopt the construction urged upon us by defendant, it would produce the absurd result of assuring recidivist drunk drivers that there could be no increase in punishment for convictions after the third ouil violation.
Our conclusion that the Legislature intended that the habitual offender act apply to ouil felonies, even though the underlying felony is itself an ouil offense, is supported by 1978 PA 77,27 which amended the habitual offender statute to exempt from its application certain major controlled substance offenses controlled by other provisions of law.28 See People v Elmore, 94 Mich App 304, 306, [72]*72n 1; 288 NW2d 416 (1979), and People v Staples, 100 Mich App 19, 23; 299 NW2d 1 (1980).
Obviously, the Legislature has demonstrated that when it intends to do so, it is capable of excluding a particular category of felonies from the sentence enhancement provisions of the habitual offender act. That the Legislature has not seen fit to write in a similar exception for ouil convictions, although it has had numerous opportunities to do so, provides reinforcement, we believe, for our finding that the Legislature intended the habitual offender statute to apply to ouil felonies.
iv
We turn now to consider defendant Johnson’s argument that his 1981 misdemeanor ouil conviction cannot be used to elevate to felony status both his 1985 ubal conviction and the current ouil-3 charge.29 Defendant claims that permitting his 1981 conviction to be used in such a manner amounts to "double enhancement” and places him in "multiple jeopardy.”
The Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution,30 as well as the similar provision in the Michigan Constitution,31 protect against successive prosecutions for the same offense, and against multiple punishment for the same offense. People v Sturgis, 427 Mich 392, 400; 397 NW2d 783 (1986). As explained in People v Wakeford, 418 Mich 95; 341 NW2d 68 (1983), the second protec[73]*73tion against multiple punishment is "a limitation on the prosecutor and the courts, not the Legislature.” Id. at 108. It is well settled that a claimed violation of the constitutional protection against double jeopardy based on multiple-punishment grounds "is appropriately resolved by ascertaining and enforcing the intent of the Legislature.” Id. at 105-106. See also People v Robideau, 419 Mich 458, 469; 355 NW2d 592 (1984). While complaining of "multiple jeopardy,” defendant Johnson cites Wakeford and states in his brief that the issue raised is one "of legislative intent and not of constitutional import.”
The language of the statute is the best source for determining legislative intent. Kalamazoo Ed Ass’n v Kalamazoo Schools, 406 Mich 579; 281 NW2d 454 (1979); Espinoza v Bowerman-Halifax Funeral Home, 121 Mich App 432; 328 NW2d 657 (1982); People v Dunn, 104 Mich App 419; 304 NW2d 856 (1981). We find nothing in the language of the ouil statute to indicate that the Legislature intended that a single misdemeanor ouil conviction could be used only to enhance to felony status one subsequent ouil offense; instead, the statute provides that a person who commits an ouil offense within ten years of two "or more” prior ouil convictions "is guilty of a felony.” MCL 257.625(6); MSA 9.2325(6). We believe that use of the words "or more” make clear that a fourth, fifth, etc., ouil offense, as well as a third offense, is a felony if all are committed within a ten-year period. We find it apparent that by using the words "or more” in this context the Legislature intended that first and second ouil misdemeanor convictions are to be counted in elevating a third ouil offense to felony status, and that the three convictions are to be counted again if the violator commits a fourth ouil offense within a ten-year period.
[74]*74Because his 1981 misdemeanor conviction had been counted once to elevate his 1985 conviction to felony status, defendant argues that the same 1981 conviction should not be counted again in determining the felony status of his current ouil-3 charge. As we understand the construction urged upon us by defendant, it would permit only a third, sixth, ninth, twelfth, etc., ouil conviction to be treated as a felony. We do not believe the Legislature intended such a result.
In light of our earlier analysis, and after considering again the purpose and wording of both the ouil provisions and the habitual offender act, we conclude that the "double enhancement” of which defendant complains was intended by the Legislature. Moreover, we are convinced that such a construction gives effect to the Legislature’s purpose, i.e., to authorize punishment on an escalating basis and to remove from the roads recidivist drunken drivers who pose a serious danger to the lives of many others.
v
Accordingly, we affirm in part32 and reverse in part the decision of the Court of Appeals in People v Bewersdorf. In People v Johnson, we affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals and remand the [75]*75case to the circuit court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Brickley, Boyle, Riley, and Mallett, JJ., concurred with Griffin, J.