How would you argue against DUI license plates?

Question

The idea is that when someone is stupid enough to get a DUI, that person would then be force to put a special-colored license plate on his car that would signal him as a DUI offender. The purpose of this idea is to not only serve as a reminder punishment, but to also alert the authorities, as well as other drivers on the road of a potiential risk.

This is something that has already been done in Ohio and it might come to effect in other states as well, such as California and Florida.

This is also my assigned topic for my debate class. I am required to argue in favor of this policy. Please give me an argument against this idea and I will try my best to defend it. As for how I feel personally, so far I personally agree with this idea also.

Wow, I never gotten this much response before. I'll start counter-arguing against you people later. I got a different essay to work on now. Thanks everyone! :D

Quick things I want to mention:
1) I never said that first-time offenders would have to carry these license plates FOREVER! The time you would be required to carry them would be based off of your driving history, so a first-timer offender with a clean history would have a far less sentence then a repeater offender with a bunch of driving violations.
2) The goverment can make special plates for cars that are shared amoung people, such as red & yellow strips for cars with the offender as the main driver and red & white strips for cars where the main driver is not the offender.
3) Couldn't a drunk guy just ask some near by dude to start his car for him? And do breathalyzers work on people that are high on drugs?

Answer 1

I don't see a problem...we require sex offenders to go door to door and alert the neighbors when they move into the neighborhood. Why not have special licenses that tell you "hey I drink and drive and may be unsafe"

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

I don't think that it's a good idea for several reasons.

1) What if someone shares a vehicle. There would be no way to differentiate which driver the marked license plate is intended for.
2) Just because of 1 incident (in many cases) people shouldn't be given a "scarlet letter" to mark them differently from everyone else. This could cause discrimination from other drivers (especially ones who may have lost a loved one to a drunk driving crash) and the police. Marked License plates could encourage some drivers to engage in unsafe driving by honking or cutting off (or maybe even hitting) the marked car. That in itself can be just as unsafe as drunk driving. Also, people walking by (like in a parking lot) might take the opportunity to vandalize the marked car. As for police, marking a license plate can be an excuse for profiling. As in #1, a marked plate won't tell the officer if the current driver is the person with a DUI. If for whatever reason anyone needs to be pulled over, the officer will be able to run the person's driver's license to see if they have any priors.
3)There are no other crimes that require people to be out right marked for wrong doing. Yes, sex offenders have to register in a public database. But they don't have to wear a special pin or mark on their clothing every day. Drug dealers, murders, rapists, and thieves don't have to mark themselves in public as criminals. DUI offenders shouldn't be different.

As stated, I do not agree with marked license plates for DUI offenders, but I do support Ignition Interlock Devices.

Answer 4

There seems to have been a mess up and it was only intended for 2 or more DUI offences whereas the initial legislation stigmatised first time offenders too. This appears to have been sorted.

The main argument against is what the dickens is a judge doing allowing a DUI offender driving privileges during their period of suspension whether they have to drive around with DUI plates or not. In most other countries when you are busted for DUI you get your walking license for a year or more. You can cry as much as you like about needing your car for your job, tough, you should have thpought about that before you offended.

Some countries leave the conviction on the license for 10 years which means the price of getting insurance is astronomical. Multiple DUI convictions should mean strike 2 or 3 and you're out, say goodbye to your driver's permit for life. Fancy colored plates do not save lives.

Answer 5

Its a bad idea, because some people would target cars with these plates for criminal activity. You would have some individuals who would single out cars with the DUI plates for vandalism, or they would harass the drivers.
Also, an above post made a very good point about other people who had to use the vehicle. What if a teenager who had never taken a drink had to use the car? He would be subject to specific scrutiny from law enforcement when he wasn't even guilty of anything. Or imagine if your wife was harassed at the supermarket because you had a DUI plate on the car. But, if there going to put DUI plates on cars, lets not stop there. We could have speeder plates, failure to stop plates, and every woman in the country could automatically be issued a tailgaters plate as soon as she registered her car.
Hmmm.... maybe this isnt such a bad idea.

Answer 6

1. Other family members may drive the offender's car, thereby getting undeserved scorn from fellow drivers.
2. Such plates might encourage "vigilante justice" from those affected by drunk drivers. If you lost a family member and saw one of those cars, you might be more tempted to key it or worse...or beat up the driver.
3. Our society isn't about doing the Scarlet Letter.
4. If DUI is such a horrible crime, how about having the offender wear special-colored DUI sneakers while he's WALKING WITH NO FREAKING LICENSE?

Answer 7

I seriously doubt that any drunk would care less about his or her license plate. It would be much better to force them to install a device that detects alcohol and prevents the car from being started, at their own expense (of course, that won't prevent them from taking someone else's car, but it's a monetary cost far beyond that of a mere license plate; granted, they might not care about money, either, as both rich and poor drink to excess).

On the other hand, it would alert other drivers, unless, of course, he or she is coming toward them at 90 mph!!! And, it might embarrass the friend or relative who has to drive the vehicle.

Regardless, I am very surprised by the breadth of research you have made just for this question (rare for this website!), as well as how it is so intelligently phrased (at least until the last paragraph which rambles a bit and repeats itself) and grammatically correct! Your parents should be proud, and you should be proud of yourself, as well! I have no doubt that you will do well with this debate, though I have a feeling you'll be under some tough competition! Good luck, and please let us know how it turns out!

P.S. For further info, search the net for "dui license plate", without the quotes. Also, consider going to your local courthouse to ask the District Attorney or judges office for info.

Answer 8

Hmm would this apply to repeat offenders or anyone who has had a DUI? Would the circumstances of their DUI be considered, would they take in consideration the alcohol point level? If someone had one drink and their weight held them intoxicated barely making the legal limit for intoxication - would that still count or only people who are OVER the limit for intoxication? Shouldn't everyone who drinks and then drives be condemned even those who drink at lunch a beer or glass of wine? Shouldn't we just have a taxi cab service set up instead at all bars and restaurants and anyone who orders alcohol automatically has to take a cab... This is a serious issue people are dying, now shouldn't the same thing be done for various other types of violations!!

Answer 9

Oh that is the best thing I ever heard of. If they did not get a DUI then they would not have to bare the shame publicly, they can drink and drive publicly but not be punished for others to be alerted. I was hit by a female drunk driver 12:00 in the afternoon. She passed out at the wheel and hit mein the reer where I was parked, bounced off and hit my side of truck, then went over the double lane and into a pole in someones yard. I was left with a severe spinal cord injury and paralyzed. Use it in the fact it could save lives, and if it is known publically then they will think twice before they get behind that wheel and kill themselves or someone else.

Answer 10

What if said offender left the bar and instead of driving the offender decided to sleep it off in the back seat. Police officer pulls up wakes suspect and proceeds to test for A possible DUI. Suspect fails field and breath test and is convicted in court. Should this person get the scarlet letter for trying to do what they thought was the responsible thing?
FYI.. I live in Ohio and I have yet to see the "party tags" on an cars yet.

Answer 11

I would point out that it would notify everyone that your a DUI offender which could leave your car to be vandalized, yourself assaulted and harassment from police. Anyone who has a DUI should have to pay to have a Breathalyzer installed in their car. It would prevent the car from starting if the person has been over served also they should be forced to pay all fines and attend the required classes. Any time you notify the public about someone who committed a crime of this nature. Your insuring the one thing police do not want vigilantly Justis