Drunken driving is no accident

Flo Martin

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, in the case of “Man killed in front

of local bar” (Daily Pilot, March 6) and “Charges delayed for crash

suspect” (Daily Pilot, March 10), I bring the following facts to your

attention.

First, a suspect allegedly drinks, then allegedly drives and

finally allegedly kills one person and maims another.

Now, that suspect is charged with vehicular manslaughter.

I favor charging the driver with second degree murder, defined as

killing someone while consciously doing something that one knows

(heavy emphasis on “knows”) is dangerous to human life. Second-degree

murder does not require proof of premeditation, only proof of malice

-- a callous disregard for human life (a lesson this juror learned

after serving six months in the Tony Protopappas trial). This driver

already has three traffic violations, two of which -- speeding and

passing on the right shoulder -- show callous disregard.

I present statistics to support my case. In the year 2000, 16,653

people were killed in crashes involving alcohol, representing 40%

percent of the 41,821 people killed in all traffic crashes. The

figures released by the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration show fatalities due to alcohol related crashes as

15,976 in 1999 and 16,653 in 2000. These statistics also reflect an

increase in the percentage of total traffic fatalities that are

alcohol related, from 38.3% in 1999 to 39.8% in 2000.

In 2001 and 2002, the figures were even more grim: 17,400 people

were killed in crashes involving alcohol, representing 41% of the

42,116 people killed in all traffic crashes (2001); and 17,419 killed

in crashes involving alcohol, representing 41% of the 42,815 killed

in all traffic crashes (2002). The statistics for injured parties are

even more devastating. More than a million people were injured during

those two years in crashes where alcohol was present -- an average of

one person injured every two minutes.

Our nation still mourns the 2,801 people who died on Sept. 11,

2001. We have declared war on the terrorists who planned and executed

that crime. Why aren’t we doing the same war-declaring on the drivers

who killed 34,819 people in 2001 and 2002?

Our country is now at war in Iraq to ferret out weapons of mass

destruction. I consider driver-plus-alcohol a weapon of mass

destruction. Having 34,819 dead people, plus their shattered families

plus their saddened colleagues and friends, constitutes mass

destruction, don’t you agree?

Allow me to quote: “Alcohol is society’s legal, oldest and most

popular drug,” according to the Narcotic Educational Foundation of

America in 2002.

“Drunk driving is the nation’s most frequently committed violent

crime, killing someone every 30 minutes,” according to the National

Highway and Traffic Safety Administration in 2003.

Despite all this evidence, other juries are letting killer drivers

off the hook. Case in point: a certain Mr. Olson was speeding when he

swerved to miss a car that had begun to turn in front of him. Mr.

Olson lost control of his car and smashed into a pole, killing his

passenger.

The deputy district attorney in the case filed felony manslaughter

charges against Olson based on Olson’s history of speeding.

Apparently, Olson had been ticketed eight times in less than two

years for excessive speed and was driving with a suspended license at

the time of the fatal accident.

The police had officially warned Olson of the dangers of speeding.

This warning would have proven gross negligence, necessary in the

felony charge. A felony charge, ladies and gentlemen, even in the

absence of alcohol as an element of the crime. Unfortunately, the

judge did not admit that evidence.

The jury found Olson guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

Together with a guilty plea on driving with a suspended license, the

conviction was a maximum sentence of 18 months in county jail -- a

fraction of the six years that Olson could have served on the felony

charge.

Over 98% of American citizens are concerned about drinkers who

drive or drivers who drink and drunken drivers who maim or kill. We

need to address this slaughter of innocent victims. We need to

consider new laws, stiffer laws, and stiffer penalties.

I rest my case.

* FLO MARTIN is a retired high school teacher, lectures part-time

at Cal State Fullerton in the Foreign Language Education program and

supervises student teachers in their classrooms.