Musings of a Cynical, Practical, Veteran of the DWI Wars

The author, a surgeon, functions in a world where practical problems demand practical solutions. He has been involved in a citizens’ activist group against drunk driving, but though he has seen some encouraging results he has more recently seen a backlash, or a loss-of-interest, effect. He is skeptical about the long-term prospects for any solution which depends on continuous maintenance of high-level citizens’ interest, news media publicity, public education, and police-judicial activity. Rather, he believes, the real solution will come from technology, from some system which takes the drink-drive decision out of the driver's hands; probably a device which prevents the car from operating when the driver has alcohol in his blood. He acknowledges that this will not be easy to develop, but recommends that it be a top priority of the automotive industry.