Even more people have been injured or killed by repeat drunken drivers this past week. The recent tragedies included a crash at Sheboygan’s Brat Days, in which four people were injured by a drunken 21-year-old from Manitowoc who was sentenced to serve time in jail for previous drunken driving convictions, plus a death and injury caused by a Pewaukee man who already has four drunken driving convictions.
The state can enact harsher penalties for driving while intoxicated, but that will do nothing to heal those who have been injured or bring back the innocent people who have been killed.
Ultimately, the responsibility is the driver’s. Before you get in the car after drinking, think about the consequences. Call a cab. Find a sober friend who’ll take you home. Go to bars close to home--Milwaukee’s known for having a bar on every corner, right?and walk there. Better yet, respect your limits when you’re partying and don’t encourage your friends to get wasted. Drunken driving has to stop now, and we can’t look to the courts to fix this problem. It’s up to us.
