A scarlett letter for DUI?
Given our continuing struggles with repeat drunk-driving offenders, would North Carolina consider what a lawmaker in Washington is proposing?
If a bill there becomes law, the state will assign specially marked license plates to DUI offenders as a punishment and as an alert to other drivers.
Once his driving privlieges were restored, the offender would have to have the flourescent yellow tag affixed to his vehicle for a year.
It is not a new idea. Convicted drunk drivers in Iowa, Minnesota and Oregon already get special tags, or at least specially marked tags. Minnesota assigns specially numbered plates to offenders. and Oregon requires a special sticker.
Ohio offenders get yellow tags with crimson numbers.
It's tempting to go along with such a policy as a deterrent and as a warning to other drivers.
But there are problems.
What if a spouse needs to share the same vehicle?
What if such cars become targets of vandals or vigilantes?
What if the offender lives in a multi-car household and decides to use a car without the tag?
Further, there's no data to suggest that the tags are an effective deterrent.
So, it's not all that surprising that opposition to the Washington legislaiton includes Mother Against Drunk Driving.
Comments (3)
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We should require them to wear a big red "D" on their clothing at all times. It makes about as much sense as the original scarlet "A."
Posted on February 20, 2008 1:27 PM
Anyone can make a mistake once. $500 fine. A second time? Take the license for 3-5 years. A third? Take the license. Get in an accident while drunk? Take the license. Drive without a license? Pay a fine, go to jail. Can't get to work because you don't have a license? Use the money you would have spent on booze and buy a bus pass or call a taxi. Driving is a privilege, not a right.
A scarlet letter? I think no license has that covered.
Posted on February 20, 2008 8:13 PM
My family has been hit on 3 different times by DUI. I can tell you for a fact, the court favors the DUI. Think you are going to make out with the insurance company. Think again. You become the bad guy. When my wife and children where struck in the rear in 1976, my wife was taken to the hospital, by friends. The NC State Police, where more concerned about the drunk. As far I we know he was never charged. If you have not guessed by now, the DUI was one of the good ole boys. Any time you are foolish enough to think JUSTICE IS BLIND, remember the Duke men.
Posted on February 21, 2008 10:59 AM