Friday, May 31, 1996

DWI offenders would get "Scarlet Letter" plates if law passes

By JANINE ZUNIGA
Associated Press

A Tyler legislator wants the "Scarlet A" for DWI.

Under legislation proposed by Rep. Ted Kamel, R-Tyler, convicted drunken drivers in Texas may be forced to drive with a red license plate marked with the white letters "DWI."

"The whole emphasis is to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries as a result of drinking and driving," Kamel said Thursday. "This is just an additional tool to help do this."

An American Civil Liberties Union spokesman said the proposed legislation, nicknamed the "Scarlet Letter Bill," would unnecessarily humiliate offenders.

"It's akin to putting someone in stocks," said Jay Jacobson, ACLU of Texas executive director. "It seems to be an overly dramatic solution that is not likely to have any significant impact except to embarrass and give the ability to point a finger."

Similar laws have been enacted in Washington and Oregon, Kamel said.

A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study found the two states had mixed success.

"The Scarlet Letter," a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, depicted a Puritan community whose leaders placed a red "A" on the clothing of women who committed adultery.

As in the novel, the negative stigma involved would have a positive effect in educating the public, Kamel said of his second such attempt at passing the bill.

The first time the legislation was late in session and Kamel said he had to choose between the license plates or tougher sentences for drunken drivers involved in multiple-death accidents. He said he chose the latter.

Jacobson said repeat DWI offenders need alcohol-abuse treatment or therapy, but legislators who propose such programs are perceived as being soft on crime.
"
Forget the civil liberties and privacy issues that this kind of law engenders, it's a politician's knee-jerk reaction that appears to help the issue but really does not," Jacobson said.

Kamel's proposal was made to a House interim committee studying drunken-driving legislation and has a way to go to get through the legislative session that begins in January.

"The committee seems very supportive," Kamel said.

If the bill is approved, convicted drunken drivers would be required to surrender the license plate and registration of the vehicle they were operating at the time of the offense.

If they do not own that vehicle, the driver could be required to surrender those materials pertaining to their own car.

The impounded license plates would be replaced with the special "DWI" plates for 10 to 180 days, according to the proposal.