Putnam patriot., 1924-12-19
TO ELIMINATE.
 DRUNKEN DRIVER
One Drink Is Cause For Sus- pension of License In This
 State
Worst ofcnse In Category of Grimes
 Says Department

Ta close up a l0ophole hg which au- tomohile operators under the influence
 of drink have been able Co escape pun.
 ishmeut in some police courts, the
 state motor department takes the
 stand iu its December bulletin. just
 issued that flor the protection of all. any person who drinks and then oner- ates must be considered drunken" and within the state law which requires suspension of the operators license
 for a year and penalty of a mini mum fine of S100 and a jall sentence. { or both.
 "Time to deal harshly with the drunken operator and the wilfully i reckless" Is the subject of the halle- ! Gin. 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.
 No Worse oiense
 There is no worse eFense in the category ef crimes than that of oppr ating while under the influence of li-
 auer. k sBys While the punishment meted out ty courts b offenders of this class Is severe. the bulletin iHti= mates that f neel ta he even more
 seeeHe. Court statistics are quoted ta show that nearly twice as many
 Iail sentences have been imposed this wear for driving while intoxicated and
 evadiHe resrAna aihHlity as last year, ! Trouble Ia securing adequate evidence
 chat a drIv6r suspected of drunken
 ness actually was drunk Is responsi-
 hle for the fret that the number of
 iail sentences is not larger.
 "The lest of who is or is not guilty
 as applied by police and courts, eonsI
 tiuues the bulletin. seems to he
 whether the person accused was intaN-
 icated enough SC that the liquor inter-
 fprfd with his physical faculties For
 proof of this. the courts usually de- pend uron doctors certificate based entirely on the driver physical eaudi- ton.
 1 Common sense and q study of those accidents which can be traced ta inz
 texieaiion demonstrate that proof that
 la man Is or Is not intoxicated does not l necessarily depend upon his physical condition" it says. Liquor some times clouds the mind and warps the ] judgment long before t has any phy- sical effect SO that a physical test is uat satisfactory. .'N hat is needed is l te enter into aH inquiry aB to mental |eendltiau induced by drinking in eases where it has not been long continued l gr liquor taken in sufficient quantity 10 cause physical intaxication. In| other words, Che test must hc applied ta the mental and not the physical
 state. For this purpose. there dees not seem to be available any possible criterion for exact determination SO for the purposes of police enforcement broad nrjuci ale is lad down that TO person whe kas been drinking ut ail ought to be allowed tu operate q car, Drinking and operating should De en- tiftiv out of the question Tor aHyuns. however well he may think he can con tral himself \ man oven mildly uR- der the influence of liquor is ineompr- tent to judge his own faculties under such circumstances"
 Not Al,zaYs Jail
 The department does not subscribe ta the theory tried ont iu some other states. that the best results are ob- iained by making q jail sentence oe- ligatorY in all cases of driving while under the influence of liquor because the knowledge that n jail term was certain Co follow might have the of- feet of putting the discretion as to whether man should or should not be sent to jail into the hands of the prosecutor. who, In some cases might discriminate in prosecuting. II Is thought wiser. to leave the discretion Co the court.
 IL is suggested that the legislature be asked to authorize. at state ex pense. a conference of judges and l prosecutors of courts, either by caun- l lies. to save expense, or in a single group. for consideration of the sub l jccts of uniformity of discipline and exact determination of punishment, go | that all courts may uniformly handle | similar cases, retaining common sen 60 | discretion for eases in which there are i isNtenuatng circumstances.
 The bulletin makes t plain thai .st ! driving is not always tO bu conHdarad reckless driving eT here are muF ! Instances it points out, j speeding is too fast Go go unpunished. because of the fact that the ear ls out tof control for an emergency which might arise. bat higher degree of speed than ordinary Is perhaps not un- reasonable on a road where there ia
 no traffic and no danger Co others. i However, if considered unreasonable 1 by an officer there ought to be pro
 vision under the law whereby q differ lent charge than reckless driving can
 be made As Che law now stands,
 many people are punished for reckless driving who are not intentionally
 reckless. and such people ought not Co
 be chased in the same category with those who are determinodly and will fully regardless of the rights, safety and property of others.