New legislation requiring specialized license plates for repeat DUI offenders is a necessary step for roadway safety. The new plates, which are already in use in Geauga and Lake Counties in Ohio, are yellow with scarlet letters. They are given to persons who retain limited driving privileges after having been convicted of more than one DUI.
The specialized plates will make the roads safer for other drivers. By clearly labeling drivers who have operated a vehicle while under the influence, other drivers can choose to steer clear of vehicles that carry the yellow and scarlet plates. The special plates make other drivers aware of the risk that might be involved with driving near someone who has been caught repeatedly driving while intoxicated.
The yellow and scarlet license plates will be able to assist police in apprehending drunk drivers. If an individual has already been convicted of driving while intoxicated, there is a high likelihood that he or she will once again take the wheel after having a few too many drinks. In fact, according to the Ohio Insurance Institute, 59 percent of DUI convictions are repeat offenders.
Conversely, the person driving the vehicle with the specialized license plates will think more carefully about his or her driving abilities. Perhaps people will choose not to drive home from a bar and instead call a taxi or allow a friend to drive with the knowledge that their license plate makes them an easy target to law enforcement.
These new license plates hold offenders publicly accountable for their actions, brandishing their vehicles with a mark that reflects their careless decisions to repeatedly drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This public stigma will act as a deterrent and a warning to other drivers, a constant reminder of the lawbreaker's previous and recurring careless behavior.
Department of Energy should seek reprieve
Instead of continuing to clumsily and sluggishly deal with many ailing former nuclear workers, the Department of Energy should turn over its caseload to the Department of Labor so the needs of the former workers can be met in a more expedient and effective manner.
As the result of a 2001 law, the government must compensate Cold War-era nuclear workers whose health has been compromised due to prolonged exposure to carcinogenic materials. But the situation has been swept under the rug and many cases have been ignored or stalled. For example, as of Oct.10, out of 20,000 applications for compensation only 264 have been finished and sent to a panel of physicians for review. The responsibility of handling sick workers' cases should be stripped from the Department of Energy and given to the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor, whose responsibilities already include the federal compensation program, is better suited to manage the cases of the workers.
Many of the former nuclear workers are very sick and in dire need of medical treatment that the U.S. government cannot continue to ignore. These workers spent a substantial part of their lives insuring American safety; we cannot ignore them now that they are older and their achievements somewhat forgotten. These workers are the forgotten cost of the Cold War, and we cannot allow them to slowly die without offering them any assistance.
The same bureaucracy that decided to build a multitude of nuclear warheads should be held accountable for cleaning up the mess, even if it involves giving millions of dollars to sick workers. It may be a political nightmare -
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