Drunk Drivers Owe Oregon $40 million
Posted by: EvanJun 14 2006, 5:55 pm
According to yesterday's Salem Statesman-Journal article about it, less than a quarter of the fines levied on drunk drivers over the past three years have been collected. That's roughly $40 million in uncollected fines.
More from the article:
In Oregon alone, more than 25,000 motorists are arrested for DUII each year, more than 160 people are killed and about 2,000 are injured in alcohol-related crashes…
[Troy Costales of Oregon's Traffic Safety Division] said the next Legislature might be asked to consider finding other ways to collect money from offenders, such as wage garnishment, asset forfeiture and seizing tax refunds.
Also, he noted that in 2002, the Washington State Patrol teamed with local courts and local prosecutors to pursue unpaid DUII fines and penalties by tracking down those people, knocking on their doors and forcing them to pay up.
Drunk driving is a major problem for bicyclists — it is a major contributor to crashes, especially fatal crashes. While our current laws are not strong enough incentives to prevent drunk driving, even those laws are being flaunted when it comes to paying up.
Costales is a smart and able advocate for road safety, and we'll be sure to work with him next session to see what we can do to improve the system.
It's time to confiscate their cars and suspend their liscences, Until the fines are paid. They'll get the message then and the word will be out on the street that something is being done. The word now is, "they don't do anything anyway, keep ;on driving ,drunk!"
Jun 16 2006 at 8:59 amA start would be to take the cops watching CM and have them wait outside bars instead. But we already knew that.
Also, definitely need tougher penalties for first time offenders, as well as repeat offenders.
However, the government needs to realize it will be impossible to just say "no more driving if caught" unless they actually work harder to provide alternatives. Take the dude's car, but sell it and give them a bike and a trimet pass!
Jun 16 2006 at 9:34 pm