A Florida senator is proposing a bill that would require anyone who has had a DUI conviction and has had their driving “privileges” restricted to have special pink license plates on their car that contain the letters DUI.
Sen. Mike Fasano, of New Port Richey, filed a bill earlier this month that requires the first three characters on the plate to read “DUI.”
“Maybe it will embarrass people and keep them from drinking and driving,” Fasano said. “Maybe they’ll think twice.”
The bill also says police “may stop any vehicle that bears a DUI plate without probable cause to check the driver.” — Associated Press
There are many problems with this proposal, not least of which is the obvious privacy concerns. You are going to deliberately embarrass anyone who was convicted of DUI, and subject them to police harassment even when they have done nothing wrong.
And that doesn’t even begin to mention the fact that DUI convictions are very frequently bogus. For instance, breathalyzers measure a whole lot of things in addition to alcohol, and such a false reading means even someone completely sober could be convicted of DUI. And it’s very common for police to simply copy DUI reports wholesale from other arrest records to “save time.”
The DUI Blog covers this issue in depth, and you can find more on the situation there.
(Via No More Points)
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works license.
Video published by this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Sampling+ license.
Bad Behavior has blocked 3472 access attempts in the last 7 days.
Facebook
Digg
del.icio.us
reddit.com
Newsvine
Firas
Nov 23, 2005
splot, because it’s regressive and medieval?
splot
Nov 23, 2005
I like it.
Of course, I also like that thing they’re doing with posting tax-evaders on the ‘net.
I think none of the consequences so far have really cut stuff back, why not use social stigma??
Michael Hampton
Nov 23, 2005
If DUI convictions were actually based on drunk driving, I might be inclined to agree. When they are actually based on the results of a quite fallible machine, which is known to show a higher result in the presence of thousands of other chemicals, I can’t go for it.
Rehan
Nov 23, 2005
IO ERROR, your comment seems to suggest to me that a considerable portion of DUI convictions are wrongly issued.
DUI breathalyzers may not be 100% accurate, but they are not being used as the sole diagnostic tool in determining a person’s level of sobriety.
Officers don’t just randomly initiate a breathalyzer test without the driver either driving erratically or showing another tell-tale sign of diminished mental capacity.
If they were the only method used to determine whether a person was intoxicated then sure, it’d be prudent and justifiable to make sure they exhibit a high degree of accuracy, but since they’re simply one of the tools in an officer’s toolbox for making that determination it seems to be exaggerating the situation to say that DUI convictions are wrongly given because the breathalyzer isn’t 100% accurate.
Also I believe (but am not sure) that in California all field-administered breathalyzer results are corroborated with a much more sensitive and accurate machine at the police station. I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while, this was the first time I decided to comment — great site
Arnold Wright
Nov 25, 2005
I think that Mike Fasano is out of his mind. I do not believe that illegal profiling is right and in my opinion by Fasano trying to allow police to illegally harrass people who are not breaking the law should lead people in Florida to reconsider his election because of his willingness to break the law himself and DENY HIS RE_ELECTION. Arnold Wright, Fort Walton Beach, FLORIDA
Richelle Smith
Nov 25, 2005
Sen. Fasano,
Seriously Fasano, Your a politician and a senator for my state. Please dont act so ignorately. We did elect you to harrass uphold our laws and help protect, from what i see you are just trying to get your name in the news or something. Wisen up.
Dave from Atlanta
Dec 31, 2005
Why don’t we also get special “brown” tags for crooked politicians? How about Red ones for people who run red lights? I know, we could get special green ones for people who don’t mow their lawns as stated in local code. Or maybe… Who’s the idiot, us or them?
Ruth Finn
Jan 02, 2006
Mike Fasano has a great idea here. Nobody should be worried about “embarrasing” or otherwise “picking” on these people with multiple DUI charges. After the firsat one they should not be driving in the first place. According to statistics there would be about 840,000 drivers eligible to be givin these tags. If the number is that high in the first place, then Florida should be responsible for the death of my son, Travis Peer, who was killed by a drunk driver in his 4th DUI !!! Let’s put these plates out immediatley, and how about one for the victims of drunk drivers to use on their cars, that may even outnumber the drunks!!!!
Kim from Virginia
Feb 05, 2006
Think about this and how ridiculous it is! Perhaps Ruth, you should consider counseling for the anger you suffer from the loss of your son. I’m not making light of your son’s death by any means, but to blame anyone who drinks alcoholic beverages is wrong. And,NO, I personally don’t drink! Maybe we start making special ID tags for anyone who has committed any sort of offense. Hey, if you pick up a penny off of the sidewalk, it’s essentially stealing. Why, because it doesn’t belong to you and you chose to pick it up! I wonder if all the congressmen and senators who have DUI’s or avoided them because of their position will enjoy there new pink tags??? This guy seriously has too much free time on his hands.
Tom
Sep 22, 2006
I hope the honorable senator from New Port Richy has a son or daughter or spousethat ends up with license plate #1.
Allison from Florida
Nov 11, 2006
Actually what I find ridiculous is that someone that has 4 DUI’s is
still out driving and being a danger to everyone else. I think that
that womans anger is justified, both at that person that killed her son
and at a state that FAILED to protect its citizens from a man that showed
willful disregard for human life by continuing to drink and drive. I
have no pity for someone that drinks and drives, becuase you are turning
your car into a potentially deadly weapon. Why should someone else pay
for your lapse in judgement.
However, one of the reasons that I don’t agree with the pink license plates is if that is a one car household why should the rest of the family suffer for what that
one person did.
dave from florida
Nov 26, 2006
I believe that this is ridiculous. I got a dui when I was 19, be it I am only 20 now, I have been sober since the day of my arrest. I have been through the humiliation of a life time at the age of 20. I have worked real hard to get where I am at and I don’t need some politician to embarrass me any more than I have myself.
Kevin fron New York
Dec 10, 2006
I understand the frustration I am reading here. Like Dave from Florida, I too have learned my lesson from drinking and driving the hard way. Fortunately, there was no tragedy involved, and I too have been sober going on 6 years.
I also emphasize with Ruth and the loss of her son. However, in my state of New York, we have gone a step further and started towing the cars of indiduals arrested for suspicion of DUI. Upon conviction, the cars become the property of municipality where the arrest was made and later sold at auction. Even still, I have run across individuals who have lost cars to their stupidity, drove drunk again – got caught AGAIN, and had their cars repossed – AGAIN! – absolute insanity!
The truth is, tag or no tag, a habitual drunk driver will continue to drive drunk unless he or she surrenders to the disease of alcoholism, and takes the appropriate steps to change their lives. Hard core alcoholics are a coniving breed (you know the saying: “it takes one to know one”?). They will drive drunk in someone else’s car (spouse, family member, friend) who does NOT have a pink tag. Then what do you do when the next tragedy occurs? Sen. Fasano’s bill is a ripped bandage – at best- on a much larger problem.
My advice is not to break the law and profile, but to use your cell phone to call the police if you see an eractic driver on the road. Now, he or she may not be drunk – in fact they may be experiencing a medical emergency – but you’ll have the peace of mind in doing YOUR part to preserve a life, if not your own
JIm Beam
Dec 11, 2006
Tell all the politicians to get screwed. Paint the guys house pink that thought of that deal.
BeauD
Feb 20, 2007
So to recap on what I just read friends of the blog world:
1. Pink tags would not in anyway be justifiable. It is at best an un-detailed idea that does not take into account such things as what was mentioned above concerning 1 vehicle homes with more than one driver.
2. People do make mistakes, some people make right and correct themselves. Sometimes though they do not in the case of the death of Ruth’s son.
Here is a good idea I believe would be more reasonable:
The pink tags are not a good idea, but in my opinion requiring a person to obtain a new license/ID that has something on it which does signify them as someone who has had a DUI is not something out of the question. Maybe a certain sequence of numbers in the license number that police officers could identify. That would be more reasonable and for the people who have had a DUI and are trying to make right (If you are doing nothing wrong then this idea would not be a problem). It would not give the officer the right to pull someone out of the car, but would make him/her be more aware of the condition of the driver. This would be a probationary thing to, only say a four year period, and if there are no further incidents the license can be replaced with an original numbered license. No invasion of privacy and it does not humiliate you in front of the whole world.
fedupwithpoliticians
May 03, 2007
It seemsd to me that all we have nowadays are arrogant politicians (who byt the way number very high in the breaking of laws)who decide to make laws that they prosper by . if i accuse you of child molestation albeit totaly bogus, you have three lawyers prospering from false accusations-a defense lawyer, a prosecutor,and a judge all makign money from a bogus claim –most politicians are liars er um i mean lawyers–the reason they keep making laws isnt because they give a rats ass about any of the peope its beacuse they make more money from every new law they make –less government is what we need–and to the tool who said that only people who show signs of dui are checked is either a police officer or ignorant –i have been pulled over frequently at traffic stops which is not asign of dui and have been checked just because of the hourwas late at night –not to mention the two imwas out with that night were police officers and commnented how it is unfare but thats the way it works –just a note i offered to drive both officers home because they were drinking for hours –they declined and both made it through the stop point–they were visibly drunk and staggering when we left the bar–i didnt drink that night
carlos
May 11, 2007
this hate law wont do any good to stop drivers from drinking
for exanple, persons are given this tags they will
transfer their registration to a spouse or other.
is a hate crine for those people that dont drink and drive
anymore on old convictions to have pink tag, have their live
put to danger from others ho thinks they have right to punch
then.
J.
Jun 23, 2010
@ kim from virgina.
I think your fallacious hyperbole is ridiculous. picking up a penny of the sidewalk? really? is that the best thing you could think of to compare to drunk driving? I hope you get run the fuck over by some inebriated spare change thief you dumb cunt.
Jim
Jul 23, 2010
I wonder if the law would equally apply to police officers (including their patrol cars) and politicians?
I thought not…