Over the last 30 years there’s been a concerted effort by legislators and the criminal justice system to crack down on impaired driving.
Sadly, it doesn’t appear to be working.
It would be foolish to categorize our collective efforts to put an end to drunk driving as a failure. Society in general appears to have gotten the simple message that if you imbibe, don’t drive.
And yet we continue to publish the results of those who make the moronic decision to get behind the wheel plastered. Without fail our weekly court report always has at least a couple of impaired driving related briefs and it’s been that way since we first started covering the weekly docket proceeding in town more than 20 years ago.
So, what’s the solution? How do we finally hammer home the message?
Simple, make drinking and driving a zero-tolerance offence. If we truly want to eliminate it, re-write the laws so that if you’re caught impaired behind the wheel you lose your driver’s licence forever.
Not for a year, or two, but for all time.
Sound harsh? You bet.
There is no excuse for drinking and driving … none. If you’re an alcoholic, get help, but for God’s sake don’t drive. If you go to buddy’s house and get lit up, don’t drive. Spend the night, call a cab, or get a ride from someone who’s not sauced, but don’t get behind the wheel.
It’s very clear to us that some people don’t have the smarts to make proper decisions. There’s three briefs this week highlighting the poor decisions make by local drivers.
There’s no telling why they did what they did, but it stands to reason that if we as a society made the commitment for a zero-tolerance approach, drunk driving would whither and die a well-deserved death.
Would you chance getting behind the wheel if you knew there was a possibility you’d lose your licence for eternity?
If you did and knew the consequences, then I think we can all agree that you’re probably too stupid to have a driver’s licence in the first place.
Tough societal problems require bold action. Eliminating drunk driving is possible if we have the courage and vision to do what’s right.
