The recent deaths of several people at the hands (or, more accurately, at the wheels) of Douglas Florey, who was driving with a blood alcohol level of .28, tragically underscores the need for Illinois to impose stiffer penalties on drunks who drive. His driving record (Page 1, Feb. 24), detailing 21 brushes with the law before this fatal one, also makes the point that dangerous drivers do not magically reform without more forceful intervention.
Impounding the vehicles of drunk drivers, or tagging them with special DUI license plates, is not the answer, because this punishment makes the faulty assumption that the drunk is the only person who uses the vehicle. Why should innocent family members lose their transportation or have it publicly labeled? Suspending the drunk’s license is not the answer, because the majority of such individuals just drive anyway, hoping they won’t get caught. Jail time is also not the answer, in and of itself. Absent treatment, the record shows, the drunk will complete his sentence and resume drunken driving.
The answer lies in mandatory alcoholism treatment in a confined setting for anyone who has more than one DUI or who drives on a license that was suspended for DUI. The fundamental problem of a drunk driver is his alcohol problem, not his driving per se. We need secure facilities, perhaps built for this specific purpose, in which drunk drivers can be confined full-time to assure that the underlying alcoholism (with its attendant denial and belligerence) is dealt with. Save the jail time (again, with mandatory alcoholism treatment) for those who commit additional crimes (such as criminal damage to property) while driving drunk.
