To not have tools to combat a serious problem is one thing. But to have them and not use them is not only foolish, it borders on negligence.
Drunken driving is a serious problem in Utah and nationwide. This page has repeatedly called for action to prevent those guilty of DUI offenses from becoming repeat offenders.
The question this page posed in conjunction with a chilling five-part series on drunken driving three months ago, is worth repeating: How can people with as many as 10 previous DUI arrests still operate a motor vehicle and kill or severely maim individuals?
Remedies we proposed then included an alcohol ignition interlock device that won't start the car unless the driver's breath is alcohol-free. But, according to a story in Tuesday's Deseret News, despite a law requiring the devices for repeat offenders, judges aren't ordering offenders to install the equipment.
In a review of DUI convictions the past two years, a subcommittee of the Governor's Council on Driving Under the Influence found what amounts to basically a total breakdown regarding this particular protection against repeat offenders causing mayhem.
According to the panel's draft report, judges should order ignition-interlock equipment for more than 165 offenders each month. That would equal 3,960 of the devices over a two-year period. The actual number of devices installed, however, is just 119, or about 3 percent of the 3,960 total.
Judges may not know the person before them is a repeat offender, the report notes, and prosecutors may be lax in asking the judge to order it. In addition, some judges feel the device may cost too much and be too inconvenient.
Those are all lame excuses for not upholding the law. And speaking of inconvenience, that should be the last reason not to require a drunken driver to install the device. Saving people from being seriously injured or killed is worth some inconvenience.
Society, including the justice system, needs a total commitment to the battle against drunken driving. Without that commitment, effective tools are useless.
Drunken driving should be viewed for what it is — a deadly plague. Mandating alcohol ignition interlock devices for repeat offenders should be automatic.