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The Politics of Alcohol
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that:
Utah House members signed off on revised legislation from Syracuse Republican Rep. Dana Love that lowers the legal blood alcohol level for a second drunken driving stop to 0.05 for those with children in the car. The bill also allows testing for five illegal drugs and adds penalties for drivers caught with suspended licenses.My question is, if the children are as important as Love says they are, and alcohol is as deadly as she claims, then why stop at 0.05, why not 0.02 as was in her original bill, or why not zero tolerance for alcohol in someone’s bloodstream?
The problem I have with this bill is that I doubt it will make any difference. According to a story in Monday’s Tribune during 2002, “six children died in accidents caused by drunk drivers in 2002. At the same time, 41 children under 19 years old died in car accidents because they were not wearing seat belts.” If we truly care about the children, as Love says we should, shouldn’t we be more concerned about seat belt use? More problematic for Love’s argument, would any of the six children that died during 2002 in drunk driving accidents be alive if the legal blood alcohol limit was 0.05? If not, are there other things that could have prevented their deaths?
By way of full disclosure, I don’t drink, but I don’t have a problem with people who do. And I believe that penalties for drunk driving should be severe. But Love’s bill looks like a solution in search of a problem.
Posted by Daniel on February 18, 2004 08:14 AM
Comments
Short answer to your first question: all in due course. That is exactly what they want to do, eventually. For those of you who have never wandered far from Utah, we have the weirdest laws regarding demon rum in These United States. No other state comes even close to us. I predict that one day Prohibition Shall Reign Once Again across the fair state of Utah. On a more serious note, Daniel is right in pointing out that this bill actually does little to protect children. I bet more kids are killed and injured in Utah every year by people speeding, people running red lights, and people who don't understand what that little stick is on the side of the steering wheel (nor do they understand that it is actually mandatory, not optional, in this state to signal one's turns and lane changes). As for the DUI bill, if the legislature was really serious about drunk drivers, they would simply adopt my suggestion for DUI penalties: first offense, suspension of license; second offense, revocation of license; third offense, go to jail.
Posted by: The Wise One at February 18, 2004 09:33 AM