On Educating DUIs
Jeanne Wright, in a column published August 25 ’04 in the L.A. Times (“When the fun stops in summer,” in the Highway 1 section), writes that a spokesman from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration explains that highway fatalities from DUIs are increasing because “a new generation…hasn’t heard the message or just doesn’t care” on the dangers of drinking and driving. My response:
Since efforts began 25 years ago to educate and tighten the laws on DUIs, the number of fatalities initially went down because the educating taught non-alcoholics that drinking and driving is dangerous. When non-addicts stopped engaging in this misbehavior, only alcoholics (and other-drug addicts) were left. Alcoholics do not respond to educational campaigns because, as recovering addicts tell us, a sense of invincibility develops when the drinking begins. They can do anything–including drive safely even while under the influence. Of course, the facts belie the feeling: for every 100 miles driven, 2 miles are driven by a person under the influence, and this 2 miles (2% of all road-miles driven) are responsible for almost 50% of fatalities. However, when dealing with alcoholics, we’re not dealing with a person that can reason. Therefore, we must coerce abstinence with hard and certain consequences for misbehaviors. This is where the law fails: the DUI is apprehended in, at best, one out of every 1,000 incidents.