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.
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