PROBLEM DRINKERS WHO DRIVE

Over the last decade, safety advocates have made their point about the
dangers of drunken driving. Most reasonable people have listened.

Thanks to that effort, drinking and driving is a social taboo. Hosts
provide transportation or accommodation for guests who've been drinking.
Designated drivers are common. Many restaurants and bars have taken a more
responsible approach to serving alcohol. And most states have rolled back
the legal blood alcohol standard from .10 to .08.

Yet drunken driving persists. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration recently released annual figures indicating an increase in
the number of people killed in alcohol-related highway accidents for the
first time in five years. In 2000, 40% of the 41,812 highway deaths, or
16,653, involved alcohol.

Increasingly, experts say that the problem isn't social drinkers or
occasional drinkers. The problem is hard-core drinkers who continue to
drink and drive, regardless of the stiffer laws, the public warnings and
the societal scorn.

Reaching those problem drinkers poses a far more difficult challenge than
convincing after-work buddies to designate a driver. Tougher state laws
would help get problem drinkers off the road, at least for a while. But
ultimately, the only way for society to make a dent in this issue is to
attack the addiction. That means more drug courts for young offenders, more
treatment options and more health-insurance coverage of the treatments.

Tackling the issue of the problem drinkers who drive won't be easy and
won't be cheap. But any success that is achieved will address two problems
instead of one.