Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 18, 1993 TAG: 9307200562
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER Note: Lede
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A revoked driver's license and the threat of jail could not keep Stanley Brooks off the road. Could anything else have saved him and the two people he killed?
"I don't trust the person who says they have the magic cure-all, because I don't think there is one," says Del. Clifton Woodrum, D-Roanoke.
"But that's not to say we're not trying to find Second of two parts an answer," he said.
Woodrum is a member of the House Courts of Justice Committee, which will come to Roanoke Tuesday for a public hearing on how to keep illegal drivers off the road.
The hearing was called after publicity and public outcry over accidents like the one in which Brooks, drunk and speeding 100 mph down a Roanoke highway, killed himself and two other people in a head-on collision.
But there are 665,000 other suspended drivers in Virginia who haven't made headlines - at least not yet.
In Roanoke, court officials have started an innovative program: giving suspended drivers incentive to pay or work off traffic fines before they become repeat offenders.
Here are some examples of what other localities and states are doing:
\ Confiscating automobiles from illegal drivers.
Dozens of jurisdictions have used this in some form, but Virginia repealed its confiscation law in 1989.
\ Pros: Instead of fining or jailing the illegal driver, why not go to the root of the problem? "We need to start treating cars like we treat guns," Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell says. "We don't give a gun back to a convicted murderer and say: `Here, you can take this home with you.' "
While a suspended driver can borrow a car, supporters of this measure say the threat of confiscation will make legitimate owners less likely to hand over their keys.
\ Cons: In Virginia, confiscation was deemed too time-consuming, and the costs of storing and selling the cars did not support the program. To protect the rights of lien holders and joint owners, the law could only be used against offenders who owned their cars free and clear. Even then, administrative costs often exceeded the value of the car.
Some of those problems might be eliminated by impounding cars temporarily instead of taking them for good. But civil libertarians say giving the government more forfeiture power can lead to heavy-handed seizures already complained of in the war on drugs.
\ \ Ignition interlocks.
Sixteen states have passed laws allowing judges to use this method, which consists of a breath sensor mounted on the car's dashboard. The driver must exhale into the unit before starting the car. If there's too much alcohol on his breath, the car won't start.
\ Pros: This method is effective with repeat offenders, who make up 45 percent of those arrested for drunken driving. In Ohio, a study found that rearrest rates were cut by three times for DUI offenders using the interlock system.
\ Cons: Enforcement can be tough. In California, one-fourth of the offenders assigned to the program never bothered to have the interlocks installed. And once in place, they are still subject to loop holes - some drivers have another person blow into the device, or simply leave their car running in the parking lot of a bar. Another problem: the $500 price tag for the device. With offenders usually paying, some say this program would unfairly prosecute the poor.
\ Labeling the license plates of suspended drivers.
In Washington state, Oregon, Iowa and other states, specially colored or lettered license plates are issued to suspended drivers - giving police immediate probable cause to stop the car.
\ Pros: In addition to helping police, it warns the public. "At least we could try to get out of the driver's way," said John Markey, chairman of People Against Impaired Drivers in Roanoke.
\ Cons: Suspended drivers can always switch the license plates, already a common practice in Virginia for those who want to evade other laws. Critics argue it imposes undue public humiliation on the accused, innocent family members and their passengers.
\ House arrest and electronic surveillance:
Roanoke has about a half-dozen people under a new electronic surveillance program. The offender wears an electronic bracelet that sends a signal to a telephone transmitter, which in turn feeds information into a computer.
"We get a computer printout of the guy's comings and goings," said John Rauck, head of Roanoke's probation and parole office.
\ Pros: House arrest is one way to relieve jail overcrowding, and electronic surveillance provides some enforcement. Estimates place the cost at $3.75 to $20 per day, compared to the $45 per day it takes to incarcerate someone.
\ Cons: Parole officers do not have the manpower to search for someone who jumps house arrest, and the system is designed for low-risk offenders. Dangerous drivers are not among those people, Rauck said.
"A habitual traffic offender is someone who has no fear of going to jail," he said. "So I don't think they will make good candidates" for more lenient treatment.
\ Beefed-up enforcement.
In Hampton, police and the DMV have formed a hit list of the city's most dangerous drivers and are devoting extra manpower to watch them at home and at work. Of 67 high-risk drivers identified, they've already nabbed 21.
\ Pros: "The punishment is after the fact," Woodrum said. "If we want to do something preventative in nature, we may want to look at increasing the number of police [officers] and their patrols."
\ Cons: With violent crime and drug offenses on the rise, many police departments are short-handed as it is. "Americans may not be willing to fund the bill to have [additional] officers work special details to track down license violators," said John Cease, chief of the Roanoke County Police Department.
Input file was 0007 Output file was /asst/csi/0719/pass2/0007 The result of the Commonwealth Games of Virginia girls' 18-under singles tournament was incorrect in Monday's sports section. Sarah Driscoll won the gold medal, Armistead Lemon the silver and Shannon Vittur the bronze.
In a story Wednesday about the sale of golf resorts by the Resolution Trust Corp., The Associated Press erroneously reported the name of the managing partner for Carmel Valley Ranch. It is Westcor Resorts, not Westcorp.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***