Fix What's Broken In State's DWI Fight
The upcoming
legislative session is morphing from the Year of Water into the Year of
the Watering Hole as in how to get motorists to stop filling up at one
before getting behind the wheel.
Gov. Bill
Richardson offered $2.6 million in proposals Tuesday. Attorney General
Patricia Madrid and Attorney General-elect Gary King outlined their
DWI-fighting measures Wednesday. The same day, Richardson's anti-DWI
"strike force" voted on its final pitch.
Some of the
proposals absolutely need to be put into practice. Without a doubt, the
Legislature should ensure:
New residents submit certified copies of out-of-state driving records
when applying for a New Mexico license. And anyone with a DWI conviction
elsewhere must comply with the ignition-interlock law
here.
State law is clarified so drivers ordered by the court to install
ignition interlocks on their own cars are barred from driving any vehicle
without one.
Enablers who help a drunken driver bypass an interlock face criminal
charges.
Police presence is increased, with more State Police checkpoints and
patrols as well as weekend staffing and new DWI and "Drunkbusters" hot
line officers.
The Legislature should also
consider:
Increasing potential prison sentences for repeat felony DWI offenders
as well as how long drunken drivers must use an ignition
interlock.
Installing solar-powered pavement markers to alert wrong-way drivers
on interstate ramps.
Posting signs at the Albuquerque International Sunport asking fliers
to report drunken passengers before they drive out of the airport lot and
posting the "Drunkbuster" phone number on billboards every 15 miles along
major highways.
Come January, lawmakers will once
again face the ongoing, omnipresent problem of DWI. In their attempt to
stem the tide of drunken drivers, they should focus on the proposals most
likely to dry up the state's supply and protect the public.
