Drunk Drivers

I wish with all my heat that people would not drive while intoxicated. But I fear that “getting tough on drunk drivers” just makes things worse. I would like to propose a different approach.

For the most part, drunk drivers are not evil men. When they are sober, they can be productive workers, good husbands, and good fathers. The problems arise when they are drunk – something that for various reasons, they seem unable to avoid.

Long jail terms are terribly destructive. They disrupt the family, remove a person from the work force, and cost the state a lot of money.

If a kindhearted police officer knows that the drunk driver will be severely punished, he (or she) may feel sorry for him (most drunk drivers are men) and not arrest him.

If the case goes to trial, an attorney may convince a jury that it was all a mistake. The person intended no harm, and will not offend again.

A judge may realize that under most circumstances this is basically a normal person.  She (or he) may be reluctant to remove the offender from his family and his community.  So sentencing may be very light.

So the “get tough” laws may actually lead to more drunk drivers being on the street.

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One contemporary understanding of alcoholism is that it is vicious “game” for the alcoholic.  He has gotten into a terrible competitive struggle with the bottle. He “needs” to prove to himself that he can drink without getting drunk. Like all “games,” the contest must be repeated again and again. If he “wins” (stays sober) one day, he must face the challenge again the next day, and on and on.

This competitiveness creates a tremendous anxiety. To alleviate this anxiety, the alcoholic steps out of his competitive stance, and submits. He gets drunk again. Getting drunk is the “cure” for the anxiety of a constant competitiveness.

To get tough on drunk drivers might serve to make the game more challenging. The threat of punishment can be a stimulus rather than a deterrent.  It may perpetuate the very thing it wishes to extinguish.

The genius of AA is that it offers another way to step out of this competitiveness with the bottle: submit to the program rather than the bottle!  Many of the principles of AA support this submissive stance toward life: realizing that one is powerless in relation to the bottle; realizing that only God can help him; turning one’s life over to God as one understands God; taking a full and honest spiritual inventory of one’s life; and making restitution to those one has injured.

I would like to propose an approach to drunk driving that is designed primarily to protect the public rather than punish the offender. This approach would remove the alcoholic from the terrible “game” in which he is caught.

(1)  For a first offense, have a mild rebuke along with a very stern warning. Many people simply make a mistake, and when confronted with its potential destructiveness, will not make this mistake again. Of course, for this program to work fully, there would need to be a national data base, to make sure this really is a first offense.

(2)  For all subsequent offenses have very severe penalties. But offer the offender two choices: (a) he can serve a long prison term, or (b) he can submit to an extensive Antabuse program at his own expense. He must visit an appropriate doctor or clinic on a regular basis.  If he misses even one visit, he will be arrested and serve out the remainder of his sentence in jail. In this case, prison would have been his choice.

(3) If he really wants to get drunk again, he will submit to some kind of custodial arrangement (at his own expense) for the few days it takes the Antabuse to metabolize out of his system.  Then, while still in custody at his own expense, he can get as drunk as he wishes, and then remain in custody while the alcohol metabolizes out of his system and he is able to start the Antabuse program again.

This last provision is critical to this approach. I have no wish to stop people from getting drunk. I just don’t want them out driving while they are intoxicated.

I think an approach like this might lessen the competitiveness that fuels excessive drinking.  If police, judges and juries know that the offender will not necessarily be removed from his family and community, they might be more realistic about not turning these offenders loose on the world. And quite possible, it might interrupt the vicious cycle of competitiveness that dominates the alcoholic’s life.