Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Interesting Idea From A Spokesman Reader

Spokesman-Review Letters to the editor
Make drunk drivers safe ones

Why not let the drunk driver, convicted, submit to mandatory free "drunk cab" service? A free ride in a drunk cab would mean a sober driver (they would have special cars with breathalyzers built into the ignition) could have the chance to repay society through a lifetime of service driving the drunk cab.

A drunk cab would mean a safe, sober ride home regardless of the hour and never a charge. Drunk-cab drivers would have a lifetime of jail time suspended, only once, to be out in the world free and full of life, preventing the reason they are there.

Over time the drunk cabs would outweigh the normal traffic. And the roads would be much safer if there was a win-win alternative.

Michael Galasyn
Spokane


Okay, this is extreme. But there are some communities who have gone to the extent of starting non-profit agencies staffed by volunteers to drive intoxicated people home. I have also heard of a company where the employees ride those mini-bikes that were popular a couple years ago to a bar when you call for a ride. Once there, they load you into the passenger seat of your own car, the mini-bike into the trunk, and drive you home. They ride the mini-bike home, or back to work, and you pass out, with your car safely in the garage. It's a win-win situation. So what's your idea to keep drunk drivers off the road?

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About SRTC

SRTC is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Spokane County. Urbanized areas with populations exceeding 50,000 people are required to have an MPO. SRTC was formed to address the county's transportation planning needs. It provides coordination in planning between the public, cities, small towns, the county, the state, transit providers, and tribes.

SRTC offers services including transportation monitoring, transportation modeling, census information analysis, travel demand forecasting, historical traffic count analysis, geographic information systems, and trip generation rates.