A Mississippi legislator proposed the Scarlet Letter Tag Bill to punish DUI repeat violators for one year. Research shows that similar laws in other states such as Ohio do not significantly reduce deaths caused by DUI crashes.
House Representative Gary Chism, lawmaker from Mississippi, passed a new law targeting second-time DUI offenders. Under the Scarlet Letter Tag bill, drivers convicted of a second DUI violation will be issued a yellow license plate with bright red tags. The special plate serves as a mark to determine DUI repeat offenders for one year.
With the proposed law, Chism intends to publicly shame DUI offenders with scarlet car tags, reported FOX13. Chism said, "If you ain't learned your lesson after the first one, then we need to step in and do something to get your attention ... Maybe if all your neighbors know, and the Highway Patrol will know, they won't be as likely to get out there weaving on the roads again."
People have mixed reactions on the proposed bill. Shawn Cannon of Southaven said, "If you get a second DUI, you obviously know the rules. Don't drink and drive."
Larry Brister, also from Southaven, said that the state needs to first conduct more research before implementing laws that embarrass people. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other organizations do not approve of the scarlet car plates, calling them a "trend of over-criminalization." More critics said that the proposed bill causes unfair public humiliation on the part of offenders, causing them to lose their jobs.
The Clarion-Ledger reported that other states such as Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, and Oregon have ratified similar laws. In Ohio, special car plates were issued to DUI convicts since 1967. It became mandatory in 2004 for second-DUI offenders and drivers with blood alcohol exceeding the legal threshold.
A similar law in Georgia uses numbers instead of colors to mark DUI repeat offenders. The current "interlock" law in Mississippi gives 90-day suspension for first-time DUI violators or issues them an interlock-restricted license and ignition breath-alcohol interlock device.
Research retrieved from Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) shows that drivers in Ohio are as likely to die in DUI car accidents as in other states. The data in 2012 revealed that Ohio had a 24% higher DUI death rate than Georgia. The study suggests that laws addressing DUI do not necessarily decrease DUI fatalities by a significant rate.
The Scarlet Letter Tag Bill is currently being drafted and checked for possible loopholes. If the bill is approved, second-time DUI offenders will be required by law to be tagged with special scarlet car plates.
