Alcoblow

The issue on my mind today is the Alco-blow or the Breathalyser as its known in some parts of the world. First off, I think that the person who invented it was quite sadistic. Ok maybe not to go that far since some pretty nasty accidents have been caused by drunk driving. I was actually in court once when an accused driver who had been arrested the day before on the charge of drunk driving was still too high to enter a plea. Imagine him driving the vehicle behind you!

My question is just is this country really ready for such a contraption? Consider the following:

Stumbling block 1
The first obvious stumbling block can be found in our dear brothers and sisters the law enforcers. I’m sure many from our dedicated police force had a merry Christmas due to their heavily greased palms. Think about it; where the fine is Kshs. 10,000.00 the bribe (and of course that is an option) has to be heftier than would otherwise be the position.

Stumbling block 2
The penalties on being found guilty are just crazy! Kshs. 10,000.00? Loss of license? Loss of car!? The punishment just does not fit the crime. Hear me out here. One of the raisons d’etre of a penalty is to deter people from committing crimes having learnt from what befell one who was not so wise. The effect of having a punishment that is too severe is that people will put more energy into not getting caught (see stumbling block 1 above) and less in following the proper path. This is clearly counter-productive.

Today I was talking to a guy who gave me all manner of ideas on how to get away with more than two and a half beers and still sit on the driver’s seat. People’s minds are churning.