Document text
Drunken drivers get the boot County OKs program to immobilize cars By ALBERTO ENRIQUEZ Chronic drunken drivers soon will face a penalty on top of fines or jail: walking. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved a car booting program that will allow judges to order drunken drivers' cars immobilized for one year by the fitting of a tire-locking device known as a boot. Drivers will pay a $75 installation fee and a $30-a-month monitoring fee for the boot. Those who fail to pay could have their cars auctioned. Before passing the ordinance, commissioners heard impassioned testimony from Ashland resident Angela Barber-Austbo, who in 1992 suffered severe permanent disability in an accident caused by a drunken driver. She said she'd completed a bachelor's degree before the accident and had dreams of working as a high school counselor. Since, those dreams have slipped away, and she relies upon $400 a month in disability payments. "Now every day is frustrating; every day is difficult and takes a lot of extra techniques just to get through the little things that you all take for granted," she said. "Tom George, the man who ruined my life, had many other DUIIs, and he hurt somebody else before he hurt me. ... He has two years left in jail -- I am sentenced for life." George, of Ashland, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants, assault and other charges in the accident. Jackson County traffic safety coordinator Sandy Depiero emphasized that Barber-Austbo isn't alone. In the United States, drunken drivers leave 37,000 victims "sentenced for life to catastrophic injury." Deputy District Attorney Debbie Minder, who helped draft the booting program in accordance with a law passed in the 1997 Legislature, said: The boot will be used only on conviction of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and even then, only at the discretion of a trial judge. The district attorney's office initially will recommend the boot only for a DUII convict who has three major traffic convictions. State law allows booting after a single DUII. The boot will be applied only to the vehicle driven at the time of arrest -- whether borrowed or not. The district attorney's office anticipates about 10 boot recommendations a month. Minder said a tiny percentage of drivers, perhaps 3 percent, account for the vast majority of DUIIs. These chronic offenders, mostly male and young to middle-aged, typically do not regard drunken driving as a problem. Medford Police Deputy Chief Ron Norris joined other local law enforcement representatives in saying that judges need more tools to keep habitual drunken drivers off the streets. "In passing our own municipal impounding ordinance, we've had a number of examples where individuals are cited 40 times for DUII," Norris said. "Our jails are full, and DUIIs go out first." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA