Editorial: Seize, sell cars of all drink drivers

A Bay of Plenty Sensible Sentencing advocate wants people caught driving over the limit to have their cars permanently seized and sold.

Ken Evans lost his son, Grant, in a road accident and believes it is time this country further toughened its drink-driving laws.

He wants drink-drivers, including first-time offenders, to have their vehicles taken off them and sold, with the proceeds going to police.

Mr Evans has written to Tauranga MP and Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges urging legislation similar to the high-profile car-crushing law. But Mr Bridges feels the Government is already taking a strong line against traffic offenders.

Mr Bridges is right. Measures such as zero-alcohol limits for under-20s; increased sentences for serious driving offences causing death; mandatory 28-day licence suspension and vehicle impoundment for high-alcohol levels and repeat offenders; as well as legislation coming into force regarding zero-alcohol levels for repeat offenders and alcohol interlocks being fitted to repeat offenders' cars, show drink-driving is being taken seriously.

This Government should be applauded for the measures it has taken on drink-driving and tightening the driver licensing system. But Mr Evans has a good point. Why shouldn't we go even further?

Drink-driving remains a serious problem - and the statistics prove this.

In 2010, drink and drug-driving was a contributing factor in 121 fatal traffic crashes, 398 serious injury crashes and 1011 minor injury crashes. These crashes resulted in 142 deaths, 552 serious injuries and 1559 minor injuries. The total social cost of crashes involving alcohol and drugs was about $898 million - a quarter of the social cost associated with all injury crashes.

Interestingly, statistics also show that permanently seizing cars has been a deterrent with boy racers.

The boy-racer law resulted in an 18 per cent drop in street-racing offences last year, compared with the year before. Under the boy-racer law, drivers commit an offence if they show "unnecessary exhibition of speed or acceleration", do burnouts without reasonable excuse, or pour oil/petrol/any substance on the road for "loss of traction".

After three offences within four years, a court can order the vehicle to be crushed, as long as it will not result in "extreme hardship" to the offender.

So, if it's good enough to seize and crush the cars of boy racers, why not those of drink-drivers?

Drink-driving is an insipid, indefensible crime. These offenders clearly feel it is perfectly okay to drink too much and get behind the wheel, putting other people's lives at stake.

Some are hard-core criminals who deserve jail and lifetime bans from driving. There is a sub-group who will re-offend no matter what punishments are handed down. But there are some who are normally law-abiding citizens who have made a mistake. They thought they were okay but were just over the limit.

Either way, there can be disastrous consequences. There is no excuse given the amount of publicity this subject has been given over the years. Mr Evans is right - it is now time to tighten the tourniquet even further.

The Government should look at introducing a law to permanently seize the vehicles of all drink-drivers, even first-time offenders, and sell them. It should not matter who owns the vehicle - if anyone is silly enough to give their car to a potential drink-driver that's their problem, not ours. We, as a society, must continue to agitate and push for tougher laws on drink-driving.

What do you think?

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