New Britain herald., 1924-12-15
MAN WHO DRINKS \ IS DRUNK..RULING
Motor Vehicle Dept. Makes DraS.
 tic and Radical Decision

Hartford, Dec. 15.-To close up luophole by which automobile op- orators under the influence of drink have been able 10 escape punish- ment In some police courts, the state motor vehicle department takes the stand In its December bulletin, just issued, that flor the protection of all, any person who drinks and then operates must be considered drunk en" and within the state law which requires suspension of the opera tors license for a year and a pen atty of a minimum fine of Sl00 and Il jail sentence, or both,
 "Time to deal harshly with the drunken operator and the wilfuly rcckIess," is the subject of the bull lctin, which says that there is no place on the highways for those who drink, evade responsibility and show sheer disregard for the safety Of others.
 There is no worse offense in the category of crimes than that of op- erating while under the influence of iiauor." it says. While the punish mcnt meted out by courts to offend- CTS of the class is severe the bull letin intimates that 1t needs to be even more severe. Court statistics are quoted 10 show that nearly twice as many jail sentences have been imposed this year for driving while intoxicated and evadng re- sponsiblity as last year. Trouble in securing adequate evidence that a driver suspected of drunkenness &C., tually was drunk Is responsible for the fact that the number of jail sentences is not larger.
 "The test of who is or Is not guilty, Bs applied by police and courts, continues the bulletin, "seems to be whether the person accused was in- toxicated enough so that the liquor interfered with his physical facul- ties" For proof Of this, the courts usually depend upon doctors cer- tincate based entirely on the driv- CTS physical condition.
 Test Is Mental state
 Common sense and a study of those accidents which can be traced 10 intoxication demonstrate that proof that man Is or is not in- toxicated does not necessarily de- pend upon his physical condition" it says. "Liquor sometimes clouds the mind and warps the judgment long before it has any physical effect" so that a physical test is not satis- factory. What is needed Is to en- ter into an inquiry as to mental con- dition induced by drinking in cases where 1t has not been long con- tnued Or liquor taken in sufficient quantity to cause physical intoxica- lion. In other words, the test must he applied to the mental and not the physical state. For this pur- pose, there does not seem to be a.aiIable any possible criterion for -pxact determination, so far the pur- poses of police enforcement a broad principle is laid down that no per- son who has been drinking at all ought to be allowed to operate a car. Drinking and operating should he entirely out Of tho question for anyone, however well he may think he can control himself, A man even mildly under the influence Of liquor is incompetent 10 judge his
 
 stances"
 The department does not sub scsibe to the theory, tried out in some other states, that the best re- suits are obtained by making a jail sentence obligatory in all cases of driving while under the influence of liquor, because the knowledge that a jail term was certain 10 follow might have the effect of putting the