LETTERS: DISTRIBUTORS TARGET HARD-CORE DRUNKS

To the editor:

Like others who share Missouri's roads, we are 100 percent against drunk driving. For nearly 20 years, my fellow Missouri Anheuser-Busch distributors and I have pushed for better enforcement of existing laws as well as creating new laws to fight drunk driving.

Our long involvement in this area has underscored the importance of focusing on repeat offenders with high blood alcohol content. These individuals, often referred to as hard-core drunk drivers, are involved in nearly seven out of 10 drunk-driving fatalities nationwide.

Hard-core drunk drivers are characterized as being repeat offenders, typically arrested with BAC levels of 0.15 percent or higher, and they are highly resistant to change. In addition, they are 14 times more likely to be involved in a fatal drunk-driving crash than a driver with a BAC between 0.08 and 0.1 percent.

In the mid-1990s, Anheuser-Busch unveiled a legislative approach to addressing these high-risk drivers. Called the Safe Driving Platform, it advocates the use of tiered sanctions, alcohol ignition interlock devices, administrative license revocation and stiffer penalties to address the special problems presented by hard-core drunk drivers.

Studies have shown these methods work in addressing hard-core drunk drivers. We urge our policy leaders to join with us in fighting drunk driving by focusing on policy solutions which address these dangerous individuals.

GENE PATTERSON

President

River Eagle Distributing Co.

Cape Girardeau