Modest Proposal : Drunk Drivers ‘Should Face Consequences’

It wasn’t such a joyous Christmas in Banning this year.

Twins Adrian and Adriana Montalvo, 8, and their siblings Michelle, 14, and Julio, 15, were murdered when the driver of an out-of-control car struck a parked car that the four children were waiting in. The children died in the fiery explosion that followed. Also critically burned was the driver of the other car, a man whose license had been revoked for driving under the influence of alcohol. He had three previous convictions. Tests were still being conducted to see if alcohol or drugs were involved in this case, a tragedy that impels me to propose a drastic change in the way we treat drunk driving.

Every year, more than 25,000 people are killed on this country’s highways and roads because of irresponsible criminals who choose to drink or use drugs and drive their automobiles. As a former trauma center physician, I have seen the results of too much of this nonsense.

Recovering alcoholics and drug addicts realize that an important part of dealing with their problem is to accept responsibility for their actions. Consequences follow and are real. It’s time to make this clear in the legal system.

Too often, our legal system becomes the “co-dependent enabler” for drug addicts and alcoholics who drive cars. It does this by not dealing severely enough with first- and second-time drunk driving offenders, by allowing multiple offenders to eventually get their driver’s licenses back, by failing to send them to jail.

Critics of tougher laws and enforcement for intoxicated drivers might argue that people need driver’s licenses to go to work or that “everyone” has driven drunk at one time. These are irrelevant arguments that miss the point. People who choose to risk the lives of me and my family by their actions should have to deal with the consequences. It’s not our fault or our responsibility.

It’s also time for law enforcement agencies to begin diverting more resources to an extensive program of moving sobriety checkpoints. As many as one in 12 cars on the roads are driven by intoxicated drivers. The inconvenience of a program that aggressively attempts to find these people would clearly save many lives each year.

Further, it is time to realize that law enforcement resources spent on stopping drugs at the border or arresting drug dealers are a waste of time and money. Society’s problem is not what people bent on destroying their own lives do to themselves, but what these abusers do to innocent people, like kids waiting in parked cars on Christmas Day.

People foolish enough to use drugs in privacy shouldn’t be the focus of drug law enforcement. The more logical emphasis should be on where drug use affects others. Clearly, the first place to look is on our roads.

Finally, when drunk drivers are let go after a conviction without losing their licenses and serving time in jail, the judges in these cases should be held responsible by voters. The first step is to form an organization that keeps track of individual judges’ records.

I’ve lost my patience. The Montalvos, however, have lost their children.