LETTER: Publish the names of drunken drivers as a deterrent

Keith Blake writes that there seems to be no fear for people to drive drunk as one reads and hears the weekly harvest of arrests of these road terrorists by law enforcement. File photo: Matthew Jordaan/African News Agency (ANA) Archives

Keith Blake writes that there seems to be no fear for people to drive drunk as one reads and hears the weekly harvest of arrests of these road terrorists by law enforcement. File photo: Matthew Jordaan/African News Agency (ANA) Archives

Published Jun 10, 2021

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This is an almost legal open letter to our, rather all, law enforcement agencies but also not forgetting the Department of Justice.

Every week there are reports of the total chronic arrest of persons arrested on open public roads for the extremely dangerous charge of drunken driving, alternatively a charge of having more than the prescribed percentage of alcohol in one's blood, alternatively reckless and negligent driving.

We the saintly law-abiding sober-minded public, especially the motorist and the pedestrian, salute and almost raise our, or their, hands in worship of thankfulness for the arrest of these drunken drivers, as even a child will testify a car or motorbike driven by a drunken driver is like giving kindergarten children a loaded machine gun during a life skill lecture in a packed classroom.

Now what is the crux, or the heart of this issue? It seems the drunken drivers caught on more than one occasion seem to have no deterrent factor hanging over their heads like the proverbial Sword of Damocles to not want to drive a vehicle while under the influence.

There seems to be no fear to commit this road crime as one reads and hears the weekly harvest of arrests of these road terrorists by law enforcement.

I strongly believe the fault lies with the non-notification via the media or social media of the sentences, if any, these drunken drivers are supposed to be receiving in line of revenge by the courts of justice, is there ever feedback on the sentences of drunken drivers and if there is silence then this type of crime will continue to kill, maim, damage or destroy the lives and property of other users.

I am hoping that someone reading my email sees what I an trying to do and please let us know what are the sentences meted out to drunken drivers and place such sentences in your bragging arrest media briefings.

Let me just end off with this: Adam in the Bible was told not to eat the forbidden fruit but he did, he sinned an offence and today we all are suffering because of the sentence Adam received.

* Keith Alfred Adolph Blake, Ottery, Cape Town.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.

Cape Argus

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