Don’t cry if you’re DUI
Drunken drivers’ destructiveness justifies heavier fines, sentences
It’s probably true that nothing will stop a determined drunken driver. Not the prospect of getting caught. Not the prospect of an accident. Not the prospect of killing someone. Not even the prospect of his own death will stop the truly careless, the truly sociopathic, from driving while impaired. Thus, drugged-up or drunken drivers killed 477 people in Arizona in 2002, accounting for 43 percent of the state’s appalling traffic death toll. Every year when police conduct drunk-driving sweeps, they nab thousands of them, many of them intoxicated beyond belief. And each Sunday, the Tribune publishes a long list of people convicted in the East Valley’s five major cities for DUI — an endless litany of shame. So the idea that boosting drunk-driving fines might have some notable effect on this plague is probably naive. It might cause a few people to think, and maybe save a life here or there. That would be good. But even with steeper fines, the drunk tanks will still be full of reeking, retching sots. Regardless, the steeper fines are now in effect. Your first offense could cost you $950, and a second offense could run to $2,150. This is in addition to jail costs, restitution and the legal fees collected by the army of noble defense attorneys who "fight for the rights" of those accused of endangering the rest of us. The Tribune talked earlier this month with some judges and prosecutors who have qualms about the higher fines. Many pointed out that most drunks already are poor and uneducated. They fear the higher fines will be such a burden that more will go to jail for nonpayment. Maybe so. But that’s not society’s problem. That’s the drunks’ problem. And at least if they’re in jail, they can’t be driving. One suggestion that did make some sense, however, came from Clayton Hamblen, West Mesa justice of the peace. He suggested using the extra fine money for education. An educated populace, he reasons, is less likely to resort to drugs and booze. He makes a good point. Investing in schools probably would alleviate the future need for more prisons. In the meantime, drunks have to be dealt with in the here and now. Many, as we mentioned, are hardened and don’t care if they die tomorrow. Others might be convinced to change in the face of stern consequences, including steep fines. Just think: In only six years, Arizona drunks kill almost as many people as terrorists did on Sept. 11, 2001. If their ticket to ride just got more expensive, that’s just too bad.