Dear Editor,
I was reading the Chronicle’s column titled ‘Courts’ and could not help but gasp in disbelief at the number of cases involving drunk driving and the paltry fines paid for committing this offence. The crime is so pervasive and the punishment so ridiculous that I am tempted to ask whether drunk driving is a crime. If it is then why aren’t these drivers given appropriate punishment? These fines are insultingly small when one considers how potentially serious a crime of this nature can be. Many persons have lost their lives while others have been maimed for life as a consequence of drunk driving accidents, and here our courts are imposing such small fines. No wonder certain drivers who imbibe alcohol can go behind the wheel and operate with reckless abandon because they know full well that no punishment of consequence is going to come their way. That’s why one driver even appeared before a magistrate drunk. He turned up in court to answer to the charge in an inebriated state, to the amusement of the court, which imposed a $7,500 fine. No one should be amused by this theatrical display because that man, like so many others, will continue to drive drunk.
Drunk driving is a serious crime and if anything can be done to remedy the situation it would be to have fines in the region of $100,000. That is a figure which would sober up drivers to the fact that they cannot drive drunk. Secondly, and most important, such drivers should have their licences revoked permanently. A permanent revocation of one’s licence would ensure that the public is rid of these reckless drivers for good, so our roads would be safer places to traverse. The slogans do not drink and drive, or if you drink don’t drive, would then have true meaning.
Yours faithfully,
Neil Adams
