Shamefully Sober
I'd love to hear some input on this action, from both sides of the aisle. Is it fair? Does it go too far? Not far enough? Please weigh in. . .
Maricopa County Prosecutor Andrew Thomas hopes shame will keep drunk drivers off the road with Billboards:
Maricopa County, Arizona Attorney Andrew Thomas has announced a campaign aimed at reducing drunk driving in the Phoenix area. He is going to put photographs of motorists arrested for Arizona DUI on billboards and a website.
The campaign will feature faces of those convicted of Arizona DUI. The billboards will be erected in time for the upcoming holidays and remain in place through New Year’s Day. A related website will outline details of the drunk driving arrest and indicate whether there were any injuries.
Thomas, lead prosecutor in Maricopa County, wants drivers to think twice about drinking and driving by seeing the consequences of their decisions. In addition to the threat of jail time and loss of license, Thomas wants shame to be a DUI deterrent.
The campaign costs approximately three-quarters of a million dollars, and it has been paid for by an Arizona DUI-fighting grant and from a state fund containing assets seized from RICO criminal offenders.
Labels: Andrew Thomas, DUI, Maricopa County
posted by John Good @ 9:18 PM
13 Comments:
I would think the money could be better spent on other things.
DUI arrests and sentencing has become increasingly costly to the one found guilty.
I doubt it's going to really make anyone think before driving drunk. These hoosier hillbillies would probably try to get their picture up on a billboard like that.
I'm not against it, but I don't think it will deter anyone. Most people think it will always be someone else, until they get caught and sentenced to DUI. Plus, only a handful of people will even recognize the people, and most of them would just make fun of their friend(s). Waste of money.
I have one problem with it and it's from observing what happens in the suburb where I live. The cops have their cars outside of the restaurants and bars in town and they wait for the patrons to leave. Usually they'll follow a younger person, someone in their 20's and continue to tail them for miles. As soon as they make one little mistake like not stop long enough at a stop sign, or forget to signal while changing lanes and then BLAM! they've got them.
I don't like drunk drivers and certainly don't think they should be behind the wheel, but it only takes about two glasses of wine for a lot of people to hit the limit for drunk driving. This is how the townships get their money, through traffic fines and drunk driving is a big source of income for them. In fact, I have a friend who is a detective in our police department and he verified everything I said.
I've never driven drunk or have been pulled over. In fact, I will rarely drink more than one glass of wine if I'm out to dinner, but I've seen the cops around here harass people, especially teens and young adults...and blacks.
So...if they are going to get aggressive about drunk driving, how many pictures of people who are arrested only had one or two glasses of wine?
I know mug shots are public domain, but this is ridiculous, IMO. I'll bet they never have mug shots of off duty cops who drive drunk (and there are plenty of them)...oh yeah...they get a free pass.
I'm against this and as mentioned above, it won't be a deterrent for those who really are drunk drivers and the money could be used for better things than this. If they are all that concerned, why not spend the money to hire a few more cops?
ME nailed it. You can bet the horse and buggy you will never see a cops mug shot up there.
Larry - I would tend to agree with your assessment - It looks more like a "Hey! Look at ME! I'm tough - vote me back in" effort by an overzealous county prosecutor.
Parson - I could see it turning into a badge of honor: "Ha, Cletus! I'm on THREE a dem big signs now - I'm kickin' yer ass"!
Stan - The big concern that I have with this is the damage it could do to someone's life for years. Imagine a young professional who has two drinks and is barely over the limit. His rep and career could be destroyed by an action such as this.
Mary Ellen - Exactly. That follows my above comment. People deserve to screw up and learn from it. Now, I'm not talking about some asshat who drinks a fifth of Bacardi 151 in an evening and recklessly kills an innocent person. Most people have had a couple of beers or glasses of wine and thought nothing of driving home; but that amount is enough to make you illegal in some states. Many wouldn't even give it a second thought - they know what they imbibed, they feel fine, they've done it many times. Then, BAM, on a billboard. . .
Parson - Do you recall Dataman's story about his "accident" and the drunken cop on that bridge? Case in point.
Human - You have a point with the alcoholism, yet there are still personal choices being made, even at that level of addiction. Nobody is forcing one to drive drunk. The person could stay home, stay at a party overnight, take a cab, phone a friend, etc. . .
Parson - Do you recall Dataman's story about his "accident" and the drunken cop on that bridge? Case in point.
Yeah, was thinking about that when I posted.
I agree. I just don't think the ad will move alcoholics to do the things you suggest. Lots of them have several DUI charges brought against them and they still choose the wrong path.
Peace.
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