Because most UW-Madison students do not have cars on campus and walk or ride bikes instead, drunken driving is not an immediate concern for many.
However, the accident last week in which a student was injured reminds us that drunken driving is a common occurrence and serious issue with great potential for tragedy.
It is a reminder we cannot have often enough because though we might not be driving on Wisconsin roads, our family and friends no doubt are. As the event last week proved, drunken drivers can endanger students on campus who simply cross the street.
The drunken driving laws in Wisconsin are notoriously lax. Until recently, the legal-limit blood-alcohol level was .10 compared to the common .08 nationwide, and Wisconsin is the only state in which a first DUI is not a criminal offense.
Moreover, a first-time DUI offender can possibly receive a mere $150 to $300 fine and a license suspension with an immediate occupational license without jail time. These paltry penalties are just plain insulting to Wisconsin residents—it seems that recklessly endangering the lives of citizens is just significant enough to deserve a small fine.
A first DUI undoubtedly should be a criminal offense, but even more, a first-time offender should have his license taken away without being granted an occupational license, even if it is for a short period of time. Those opposed to having tougher drunken driving laws in Wisconsin argue that measures such as jail time will not deter a drunk driver from a repeated offense.
However, though the possibility of killing someone or being killed does not seem to stop people from driving while drunk, perhaps having to bum rides off others for a period of time will inconvenience them enough to make them think again before they drink and drive.
Laws and penalties are put in place because people prove they are incapable of handling their responsibilities and rights—and driving is one of the biggest responsibilities in our society today because every time someone gets behind the wheel of a car they hold countless lives in their hands.
Drunken drivers prove they are not worthy of the great responsibility of driving. Giving a DUI offender an immediate second chance is like letting someone who shot a round of bullets into a crowd back onto the streets with a loaded gun.
The Department of Transportation reports that repeat offenders committed 25 percent of automobile crashes between 1991 and 2002, proving the current laws are not enough to keep many from offending again. We should be grateful a first-time offender did not kill someone, but not so naA_ve as to try our luck again without giving him tougher penalties, such as jail time.
However, with J.B. Van Hollen as attorney general, we cannot expect much change. Despite Wisconsin's embarrassing status as being the only state where a DUI is not a criminal offense, Van Hollen was the only candidate in the election who opposed making it so.
One of his reasons for this opposition is that it would increase the workload for district attorneys. However, if 49 other states are able to handle this workload, it seems Wisconsin should have no problem with it either.
As madd.org reports, in 2004, 358 out of the 792 traffic fatalities in Wisconsin were caused by substance-related impairments. Perhaps if those 358 people were killed by the terrorist cells Van Hollen so ardently believes are hiding in Wisconsin, he would care about protecting Wisconsin residents a little more.
