.08 - A LICENSE TO KILL

NOT long after my 21st birthday, I found myself on a military aircraft
headed for Vietnam. In 1970, when I made it back home to Seattle, I
looked around and realized that many of my friends had not been so
lucky.

My grief turned to rage over life lost for no good reason. Americans
were outraged over Vietnam, yet this country has suffered the loss of
life equivalent to five Vietnam wars each decade due to our tolerance
for drinking and driving.

It is time to put a stop to the notion that it's OK for 250,000 to die
on our roadways every 10 years because people feel they have the right
to drive after they drink.

Washington state says it's OK to drink until you reach .08 percent
blood alcohol and then drive. This is insane. And it is irresponsible
public policy to think that people who are out drinking will know when
to stop and go home. People need to make the decision before they take
their first drink that they will not drive.

Senate Bill 5872 says drink as much as you want - just don't drive.
And if you do get behind the wheel after drinking, it could cost you
$500 and your driver's license for 30 days if you are found to have a
blood alcohol content between .02 and .08.

Some people are whining that they could be pulled over for something
as minor as a burned-out taillight and get charged with a traffic
infraction after one glass of wine. It's an unfounded fear based in
ignorance of the facts. Before a law-enforcement officer could
administer a breath test, the officer would still need reasonable
grounds to believe that a driver is intoxicated, under the provisions
of this bill and current law.

We have lost countless good people due to our culture's tolerance of
driving after drinking. Other countries draw a firm line, a
no-tolerance policy, that separates drinking from driving. In those
countries, people drink all they want, and they actually have higher
alcohol consumption rates than in the U.S. They know that driving
after drinking simply is not an option, and more of them are alive
because the laws in their countries show no mercy for driving while
drunk.

At the very least, we need to open up public discussion about what
other civilized countries long ago concluded: If you are going to
drink, you don't drive.

Why do we think it is our birthright to drink and drive? For every
reason that might be given, I can give hundreds of reasons why it is
not our right. That's how many people die each year in Washington due
to drunken drivers. Think about it: Hundreds of lives each year could
be saved in this state, alone. Prohibitionist, you say? I don't care
if you drink. I do care if you drink and drive.