Mothers Against Drunk Driving is absolutely right to take the next step against drunk drivers. They've made a lot of progress in deterrence through education and aggressive prosecutions, but momentum is stalled. We see that all the time in Fresno. We are fortunate to have one of the nation's most aggressive police departments on the issue of drunk driving, yet I am still amazed at how many people are caught every week. Our police have been featured in the national news, won awards and yet we seem to have an endless supply of drunk drivers flying through our checkpoints.
And they just don't get it, even when they are caught. The police department also runs court-hearing stings, where officers watch drunk driving offenders as they leave their hearings. Last sting, half - half - of these people who had their licenses suspended for drunk driving were arrogant enough to drive to the hearings. I don't know what to say. We write about these stings in the newspaper, and still they think they're smarter than everyone else.
Now, according to a New York Times story, MADD wants to make such defiance much more difficult. The group is campaigning for technology to help take out the next level of drunks. They are proposing using alcohol-detection devices in vehicles to solve the problem. They are pushing for every vehicle to be so equipped, as the long-term goal. First step of course should be to get that technology on the cars of convicted drunk drivers. MADD's first step is modeled in part on the approach taken in Canada beginning in 1991, where licenses were taken from drivers convicted of driving drunk but given back sooner if they agreed to the ignition interlock. The objective, said Andrew Murie, the chief executive of MADD Canada, is to "keep them in the licensing system, so you know who they are and where they are, keep them insured and stop them from drinking and driving."
"The interlock does all three of those things," Murie said. New Mexico also is having success with this idea. California's a leader - we should be next.
it is a bit orwellian,but a good idea nonetheless.