A TOAST TO INTOLERANCE

LAST year, state legislators congratulated themselves for creating some of
the toughest drunken-driving laws in the country. This year, one Democratic
senator from Seattle would like to inch one step further - from zero
tolerance to intolerance.

Sen. Michael Heavey, D-Seattle, wants drivers caught with a blood-alcohol
level of .02 to .08 to lose their licenses for a month. Under Senate Bill
5872, a driver who has a glass of wine with dinner and gets pulled over for
a burned-out taillight could get the scarlet "D" on his or her record,
wreaking havoc with insurance rates and means of transportation to work.

Heavey also wants to hold hosts civilly liable for giving alcohol to a guest
if the guest causes damage, injury or death as a result of alcohol
consumption. He does not limit the liability to driving-related incidents;
as SB 5873 reads, any damage caused by a guest under the influence of
alcohol - from spousal abuse later that night to tearing up a hotel room -
could come back to haunt the host.

Many factors can make drivers more dangerous on the road, such as talking on
a cellular phone, changing a CD or shortchanging sleep. Drinking alcohol is
a big one, prompting the state to set the threshold for acceptable alcohol
consumption at the blood-alcohol level of 0.1. State legislators lowered it
to .08 last year as one of 13 bills to toughen penalties against drunken
drivers.

When Gov. Gary Locke signed those 13 bills into law, he said the message was
to "pass up that last drink." Heavey's message is, "Pass up all drinks, and
keep everyone around you from drinking, too" - as if adults were incapable
of moderating themselves under the strict new laws. Such Prohibition-era
nannyism deserves no seat at the bar.