I read this article in my local paper, and for the life
of me I do not know why this is not done nationwide.
Forgive Doug Narron if he puffed out his chest when that waitress at the Alaska restaurant sauntered over and asked for ID before serving him a glass of wine. Narron, of Raleigh, can also be forgiven if he thought she was just angling for a juicy tip by flattering him. Narron, you see, is 69 and hasn’t been carded since the Nixon administration. In Alaska, he found out, everyone is carded and the conscientious hash slinger was just doing her job.
The reason young Doug was carded during his vacation to
Alaska is….. ANYONE BUYING ANY ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE IS CARDED, no matter how old
they are.
Why, you may ask?
In Alaska, anyone convicted of a DUI MAY be required to carry license with a bright red banner on it, which prohibits the holder from buying
alcohol. Period.
What kind of restrictions can a Court order following a
conviction for DUI and/or Refusal?
1. The court MAY prohibit you from purchasing alcohol. The DMV is REQUIRED to place a ‘J’ (restricted
from purchasing alcohol) restriction on your driver license and/or identification
card. The words ‘ALCOHOL RESTRICTED’
will appear in a red banner.
2. The court MUST order you to drive a vehicle with an
ignition interlock device (IID) installed. The DMV is REQUIRED to place a ‘C’ (ignition
interlock device required) restriction on your driver license. The back of the license will state ‘IID
REQUIRED’ under the heading ‘Restrictions.’ On a limited driver's license, ‘Ignition
Interlock Device Required’ is printed in bold letters on the paper license.
This link is to the Alaska DMV website – it’s about your
FIRST DUI… and it’s short, scary, and fantastic.
Does anyone besides me think it’s high time we, as a
nation, got serious about drinking and driving?
Here are four staggering facts from the MADD website.
- Almost half of all drivers who were killed in crashes and tested positive for drugs also had alcohol in their system.
- About one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted of driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol are repeat offenders.
- Over 1.41 million drivers were arrested in 2010 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.
- In 2010, 211 children were killed in drunk driving crashes. Out of those 211 deaths, 131 (62 percent) were riding with the drunk driver. [Note that this is more than the number killed by guns.]
Between 2006 and 2010, 561 children age 12 and under were killed by firearms, according to the FBI's most recent Uniform Crime Reports. The numbers each year are consistent: 120 in 2006; 115 in 2007; 116 in 2008, 114 in 2009 and 96 in 2010.
I like Alaska’s approach.
If YOU do, share this with your local politicians…
From the Alaska DMV website: DUI CONSEQUENCES AND ALTERNATIVES
ReplyDeleteBefore you drink and drive, consider the consequences and alternatives:
CONSEQUENCES
AVERAGE COST OF A FIRST DUI $24,265
3 days in jail $ 330
Court Fines $ 1,500
Sentencing $ 250+
Vehicle Impound Fee $ 600+
Ignition Interlock Device/12 months $1,300+
Loss of Vehicle (30 Days) $$$
Attorney (Your attorney) $$$
Change of Plea $5,000+
Court Proceedings $3,000+
DMV Administrative Hearing $5,000+
Attorney (Court Appointed) $ 850
Change of Plea $ 200
Court Proceedings $ 200
SR22 Insurance $ 500 to
$2,000 Per Year for 5 years
Replacement License $10,000
License Reinstatement Fee $200 - 250
Education Compliance $390+
IN ADDITION:
Written Test Free
Embarrassment $$$
Taxicab/Bus/Friends $$$
Loss of Driving Privileges (90 Days)$$$
Loss of Job / Future Jobs $$$
Loss of Property $$$
10 points on your driving record Free
DUI'S STAY ON YOUR RECORD FOREVER
LOSS OF LIFE Priceless
ALTERNATIVES to drinking and driving:
Average cost of an alternative ride $15
Designated Driver Free
Taxicab (per mile) $2
For the cost of a first time DUI you could ride 12,133 miles in a taxicab.
That is almost 1/2 way around the world.
I JUST LOVE THIS!
This needs to be nation wide
ReplyDeleteI agree - no one can claim they are being discriminated against.... it certainly covers all bases, and it's CHEAP for the state.
DeleteHere's a local news item.... took place southeast of Raleigh:
ReplyDeleteA 3-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl are in critical condition, as a result of a wreck in which their mother is charged with DWI, investigators said.
According to Cape Carteret Police, 27-year-old Tonya Gillikin, believed to be from Swansboro, was driving on Highway 24, when she went left of center and hit a curb, flipping her Dodge Caravan four times…Police told NewsChannel 12 on Thursday that two of her kids are in critical condition at Vidant Medical Center: her 3-year-old son and her 5-year-old daughter. Gillikin's other two children, her 15-month-old daughter and 2-year-old son, are in Carteret General Hospital, but their conditions have not been released….
Police said the 2-year-old boy was ejected from his car seat and was trapped underneath the minivan. Highway Patrol troopers, Cape Carteret officers and pedestrians had to lift the vehicle to rescue the child. According to investigators, the boy was secured to his car seat, but the car seat was not secured to the van.
Police said alcohol was a factor and they charged Gillikin with driving while intoxicated. [WITH FOUR KIDS UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE IN THE CAR!!!}
I posted this piece on another site where I'm an author... and one of my fellow authors suggested that people convicted of a DUI should have a car license tag that clearly shows the driver has a DUI history - to warn others on the the road. I like that idea, too. Too bad if it happens to be the family car with a flaming red plate - perhaps the embarrassment would prevent future occurrences.
ReplyDeleteAs a mother who has lost three children to drunk driving (two in 1999 and 1 in 2003) I TOTALLY AGREE with Alaska. There will be those that still drink; alcohol at a party, etc... but it sure would help prevent the needless loss of life and injury that so many have experienced in our country. My children were 8, 10 and 16. Gone because of the careless choice of another. The driver that killed 2 of my children in 1999 was a repeat offender who was driving on a revoked license. They took his license in June and he killed my children in July.
ReplyDeleteOh my! I an so terribly sorry for the losses you've suffered. I agree that people will still drink ant parties and at home, but Alaska's plan must surely reduce the number who get behind the wheel.
Delete"Dram shop" laws in most states allow victims of drunk driving accidents (or their families) to hold bars and alcohol retailers accountable for the death, injury or other damages caused by an intoxicated customer. I fail to see this as a deterrent as it just absolves the drunk of responsibility - rather like blaming McDonalds if you get fat.
Thank you for your comment here. God bless you.
1. This won't work--Remember Prohibition?
ReplyDelete2. They have tried several things-- Ignition Interlock, long suspension of license, etc.
3. What it is condensed into is this:
The drunk has to experience a crisis that it personal to him/her. For some, it is getting fired, for some, it is being divorced and thrown out of the home, for others, a DUI arrest and a few hours in jail.
A Navy Psychiatrist (Himself a recovering alcoholic) told a CHP Training Day that:
A. Drunks are experts in BSing themselves. They have all kinds of excuses and rationales.
B. They need a crisis that is personal to them that smacks them up aside the head and tells them:"YOU HAVE A PROBLEM!"
C. He urged us to go out and "Put a few crises in people's life--That is arrest DUI's
Thanks for your reply, Dave ... I'm glad to have a former law enforcement officer's take on this... I totally understand the 'crisis' solution but when it is one that gets someone killed..... we have to start somewhere. And the pols running around screaming gun control when GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE.... seems there are far more deaths caused by drunks on the road than by guns (except for Chicago, of course)
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