NYC's car-confiscation plan is gaining converts
New York Mayor Giuliani's plan to steal the cars of people caught at even one sip over the DWI arrest threshold has proved to be such a media bonanza that other mayors are getting in on the action. Within days of Giuliani's announcement, the mayors of Houston and Chicago vowed to start their own subsidized car-theft ring. Officials in Atlanta and Los Angeles are studying the issue and cops in Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island have already started confiscating the cars of people unfortunate enough to get caught up in this political witch-hunt.
If cities in .08% states (like Chicago or LA) enact this law, a 120-lb. woman who has as little as two glasses of wine over two hours will lose her minivan if she is stopped at a roadblock.
Lawmakers in Poland are proposing an even harsher penalty. In addition to seizing cars a la Giuliani, they want to mandate prison terms for first-time offenders. The catch: their arrest threshold is .02%.
As if on cue, an anti-alcohol group is trying to initiate a lawsuit against the beer, wine and spirits industries patterned after successful lawsuits against the tobacco industry. The Minnesota DWI Task Force, made up of officials in the state's criminal justice system and representatives from MADD, voted to urge the state to take legal action. Said Judy Hansen, assistant St. Paul city attorney and Task Force member, "I think it's winnable."
Drunken States?
If Giuliani's car-confiscation plan ever becomes the DWI punishment of choice on the state level, unsuspecting residents of some state could be in for a rude awakening. So far this year, six states have seen legislation introduced to criminalize driving with blood-alcohol levels well below any definition of "drunk."
How low is that? If Vermont's proposal had been enacted, the proverbial 120-lb. woman could have been arrested for driving after drinking less than one glass of wine over a two-hour period. Her 170-lb. date would have faced penalties after drinking just one-and-a-half glasses of wine over two hours. Where do you suppose that leaves the restaurant that served these two people?