ND Sober Ride Program Is Brilliant Public Policy

0

MINOT, N.D. — “Maybe safe ride homes, and not tougher penalties, are a better solution for drunk driving.”

That’s a headline to something I wrote way back in 2015. “What’s our goal when it comes to DUI laws? Is it putting drinkers in jail, or is it keeping roads safe?” I asked back then.

Obviously, it’s the latter, but much of our public policy around drunk driving laws is organized around the former.

So it’s gratifying to see, nearly six years after I wrote that post, that the state of North Dakota has announced a policy focused on getting people home safely from their nights out on the town, as opposed to putting them in jail.

“In an effort to cut down on drunken driving, the North Dakota Department of Transportation announced Tuesday, March 2, it will offer $10 ride vouchers to impaired residents looking to get home safely,” Jeremy Turley reports.

Continue reading…