Why pick on drunk drivers? Why stop at sex offenders? Personally, I’d like to know if my neighbor is a thief or convicted felon of any kind. Let’s post every criminal’s picture.
Better yet, let’s make them wear a scarlet “C” for “criminal” or put them in stocks on the public square so I can ridicule them in person and throw rotten fruit at them.
The problem is we have let groups like MADD dictate how we prosecute the fight against drinking and driving. Note: the fight started out against DRUNKEN DRIVING. Most fatalities involve BALs far above .08. The lowering of the standard from .10 to .08 only marginally increased public safety but has made criminals out of a much bigger segment of the population. The only ones who really benefited from the lower BAL were lawyers and government coffers.
Guydreaux is absolutely right. There needs to be a differentiation between the penalties and the amount of impairment. Unfortunately, groups like MADD, who have huge influence in this kind of legislation, stonewall every effort in this direction.
