Scourge of highways
The Washington Post
Martes, 9 de Febrero de 2010
Drunk drivers are the scourge of highways, but in too many states they are coddled by courts and lawmakers. A prime example is Maryland, which has repeatedly balked at getting tough with motorists who get sloshed before they get behind the wheel, even though they are responsible for more than a quarter of all deaths in roadway accidents. But a proven device can dramatically cut the rate of crashes, fatalities and repeat offenses – if only state lawmakers have the backbone to embrace it. The device is an ignition interlock, which can be simply installed in the cars of convicted drunk drivers. The interlocks prevent a driver from starting a car until he blows into a mouthpiece attached to the instrument panel, which analyzes blood alcohol level. If sober, the driver can start the car. Retesting is required randomly after that, and a recorder stores information on the driver’s successes and failures that officials can access.
A dozen states have required first-time convicted drunk drivers to use the devices, and the results have been dramatic. The first state, New Mexico, had one of the nation’s highest rates of drunk driving before enacting its ignition interlock law in 2005. Since then, alcohol-related accidents and deaths have dropped by about a third, and the re-arrest rate is down by almost 40 percent. Few pieces of legislation translate so directly into saving lives and preventing injuries. Still, Maryland has been slow to get with the program.
Maryland judges have the option of ordering convicted drunk drivers to install the devices, but very few of them do. A recent study by Mothers Against Drunk Driving found that virtually no judges in Prince George’s County bothered to require interlocks, and only a handful did in Montgomery County.
Legislation to require the devices breezed through the state Senate last year but died in the House Judiciary Committee, where Chairman Joseph F. Vallario Jr. (D-Prince George’s) has been a consistent foot-dragger on laws getting tough with drunk drivers. This year, Mr. Vallario is showing signs of flexibility, but it remains to be seen whether he and other lawmakers will mandate installation of the devices for all first-time offenders, and at what blood alcohol level. They should get tough on both counts; studies show most drivers arrested for first offenses have driven while intoxicated dozens of times without being caught.
Things may be changing for the better. Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) is backing the legislation this year. It is dawning on other leaders that 150 deaths annually – the approximate toll of drunk driving in Maryland – is too high a price for legislative leniency. Installing an interlock device might cost convicted drivers $500 or so for the six months it would be required.
That seems a modest amount compared to the cost they inflict on society.
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