Noted: Comment from Joe Glass, UW-Madison assistant social work professor who specializes in addiction, and Julia Sherman, coordinator of the UW-based Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project.
Glass pointed to sobriety checkpoints, alcohol ignition locks, license revocation and suspension laws as among the examples. But it’s also quite possible that someone working on a fourth drunken-driving offense has an addiction. “Repeated use in hazardous situations, including drinking and driving, is a characteristic of alcohol use disorder, as defined by the medical community,” Glass said.
Sherman said she’s not aware of evidence that the threat of tougher penalties alone deters drunken driving. Evidence does show that treatment changes alcohol-related behavior, she said, but “just locking people up isn’t treatment.”