Putting the Z in DUI

Today on NPR I heard a call-in segment about a proposal to put the letter "Z" on the license plate for three years of anyone convicted of a DUI.  The legislator who proposed the law (Representative Norma Smith of Clinton, Wash) claims it would "...provide a tool for law enforcement… just to be aware that the car is registered to someone with a DUI conviction and to provide a little extra scrutiny."  She believes the plates would also serve as an added incentive against repeat offenses.

Callers were generally in favor of the proposal, and many of them noted that they had relatives who were injured or killed by drunk drivers.  Most of the callers against the idea identified themselves as knowing someone who had received a DUI.  Those against the idea who didn't mention DUI experience were generally arguing against infringement of civil liberties.

I think this proposal is a bad idea for two reasons:

1) The person with a DUI may not be the only driver. 
An easy-to-imagine case could be a family where one parent gets a DUI and then both the sedan and the minivan get Z plates.  The other parent is then forced to drive those cars and seen by the general public unloading children from a Z-plate car.  I think that parent would face unjustified criticism and negative treatment as a result.  The show's host also noted an example from Minnesota, which has a law like this, where a day care center employee got a DUI and then all the center's vans were required to have DUI plates.  I was able to corroborate that story on the web, but wasn't able to find info about what happened to the day care business.  I can't imagine that it survived.

2) I don't think the special license plate will be an effective deterrent. 
When you're drunk, normal logic and thought processes are impaired.  We often do things drunk that we would never do sober.  Sometimes that's due to decreased inhibitions, but it's often due to a breakdown in the ability to accurately assess the outcome and consequences of our actions.  So, is a drunk person going to have the wherewithal to think about the potential Z plate before getting behind the wheel of their car?  I don't think so.  There is an argument to be made that the Z plate may make a sober person take a cab or the bus on their way to the bar/club, but I just don't see that happening much due to the cost a cab ride.


One caller to the show made a comparison to pedophiles, pointing out that many jurisdictions notify neighborhoods when sex offenders move in, and that the Z plate law was no different.  I disagree.  I'm no psychologist, but I'm pretty sure that pedophilia is a mental disorder with no known cure.  Having two drinks too many on Saturday night is merely a bad decision- albeit one with significant consequences if you drive drunk and crash.

So how do we go forward?  The Z plate approach is a well-intended but misguided attempt to address a legitimate problem.  Providing a greater deterrent against driving drunk is a good idea, but I think it makes more sense to deprive DUI offenders of their ability to commit a similar crime by suspending their driver's license and impounding their car for a period of time.  I'm not opposed to fairly severe consequences for even first-time offenders- say one year on the first offense, another year on the second, and permanent on the third.  I might even be ok with a permanent suspension on the second offense.  The Z plate approach puts DUI offenders right back in their cars.

Super Bowl XLV ads!

I'm sure there are tons of polls out there, but I haven't seen them, so here's my take.

Favorites

• Volkswagen Beetle - This is my #1 pick. Fun, engaging, and uniquely tied to the product.  Really well done, I think.  I especially like the slow-motion shots of the beetle skidding - great tie-in to the product.
• Bud Light product placement - I enjoyed the creative ways that Bud Light was worked into the fake movie, as well as the truck that drove into the set at the end.  Appropriately over the top.  
• Volkswagen Darth Vader kid - The soundtrack makes this commercial.  Nice incongruity between the music and the tiny Vader. I also love the cape flourish at the end.
• CareerBuilder.com - can't go wrong with monkeys in human clothes!  I especially enjoyed the sideswiping monkey exiting his car through the sunroof.
• CarMax service station - normal guy freaked out by unexpected activity.  Classic theme well executed.
• Bridgestone beaver - anthropomorphic beavers = always a winner.  I'm not sure it effectively advertised tires, but it made me smile.

Almost great

• Audi - I like the concept of escaping old luxury, and it had some funny moments (release the hounds!), but I think it was too complex to be effective.  This one did not live up to Audi's Godfather parody from last year.
• Teleflora - simple, enjoyable, but predictable.
• Best Buy - This is the ad with Ozzy and Justin Bieber.  I didn't even know what it was advertising until I looked it up just now.  It's only in this spot because the last two seconds with Ozzy in the background were hilarious.

Hurts my eyes

• Doritos pug - Pugs are my favorite dogs, and that was a cute little guy, but the 15 seconds or so of some idiot making faces and yelling at the camera was 15 seconds too much.
• Brisk ad with Eminem - WTF?  Animated puppet white rapper advertising a product I had to look up to see what it was.
• Budweiser Tiny Dancer - made no sense, even as a commercial that was supposed to be ridiculous.
• Chatter.com - I have no desire to visit your site.  Your commercial annoys me.  Kind-of like chatter, I suppose.

Other thoughts

• I'm done with the E-Trade baby.  Let's see something new next year.
• I left out movie commercials from the lists above, but there were some interesting ones.  I don't feel like those ads are on the same platform as the traditional Super Bowl ads.
• Two ads with Eminem?  I didn't realize he was still relevant.  Perhaps we could say the same about Detroit, which makes him an apt choice for that Chrysler commercial.
• Pepsi's two ads both featured people being physically assaulted by their product.  I understand that for, say, Mountain Dew, but Pepsi?  Odd.
• Thanks to Kia, we know that Mayan magic is more powerful than aliens or Greek gods.  (Good observation, Dave)