As I’ve pointed out in previous posts, the harsh penalties, convoluted laws and unconstitutional procedures have not lowered the alcohol-related fatality rate. And MADD is unwilling to consider rational solutions to the problem. So where does it go from here?
Roadshow: Where DUI Enforcement is Tougher
San Jose Mercury News, Dec. 31 — The drunken-driving laws just changed in Japan. Now, if there is a drunken-driving incident, all passengers in the car are liable because they should be sharing the responsibility for having a sober driver. The first fine is $5,000, three years in jail and demerit points on one’s license that pretty much make you lose the license for two years or more. The arrest rate is now down 43 percent as a result…
Now that is a tough, but needed, law – here. California’s alcohol-involved traffic death toll rose from 1,072 deaths in 1998 to nearly 1,600 last year, an increase of nearly 50 percent during a period when the state’s population grew about 12 percent.
Let’s hope MADD doesn’t hear about this "solution".
(Note: the arrest rate is down in Japan; interestingly, there is no mention of the fatality rate. Could it be that Japanese police are reluctant to arrest innocent passengers? And how could there be meaningful statistics if the "drunken driving laws in Japan just changed"? It takes the feds here over a year to accumulate the numbers.)
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