Here is an eye opening statistic. On average, every year, 1/3 of the fatal car crashes in Michigan involve drunk drivers. If you ask most law enforcement agencies they will tell you they are stretched pretty thin to stay ahead of drunk drivers out on the roads. Because of that 'stretched to thin" situation, a Michigan lawmaker is hoping his bill in Lansing will add a few more eyes out there on the roads, namely, yours and mine.
In March of 2009 a two car crash in Roseville Michigan claimed the lives of four teenagers. 47 year old Frances Dingle was behind the wheel of her van, drunk according to police, when she crashed into the car full of teens. Her victims never saw the accident coming that night, but sources who have spoken with Frances Dingle's family say they did. Representative Lamar Lemmons (D-2nd District) says Dingle's family reached out just before the crash, hoping someone would get their relative off the road. Representative Lemmons explains "they called the police and told them that she was driving and that she might kill someone and that they should stop her. They gave the police a vehicle description, etc, and she had a history of driving while drunk."
But that phone call alone, on the day that all of this happened wasn't enough to legally allow police to track down Dingle's van, pull her over for suspicion of drunk driving, and possibly avert this tragedy. According to Representative Lemmons had police witnessed Dingle's driving they could have pulled her over, but a tip from a third party isn't enough to have police make that stop because there is enough not reasonable or probable cause.
Probable cause is the key phrase. Current Michigan law states that an officer has to witness some aspect of impaired driving, like swerving, speeding, lane changes. But Representative Lamar Lemons says it shouldn't have to be an officer that witnesses it. That's why he wrote Michigan House Bill 5961. As he explains it "It will allow an anonymous tipster to inform the police when someone is impaired and driving and therefore putting the public at risk."
If passed into law, anyone, a fellow driver, a bar tender, a party host, could pick up the phone, call police, and report someone that think maybe driving drunk. The officer could then act on that tip, and wouldn't have to witness impaired driving before making a stop. Representative Lemmons explains "it would allow the tipster to be counted as a probable cause and police would be able to stop and check if indeed this person was driving while impaired."
While no one wants to see another tragedy like the one in Roseville that claimed the lives of teenagers, not everyone is on board with House Bill 5961. Representative Lemmons says "there has been mixed reaction and as all legislation it may have to be tweaked."
The biggest opposition is coming from those who say that the system could be abused, that a misguided tipster could lead police on a wild goose chase hoping to get someone else in trouble with the law. But Representative Lemmons says that is not a reason to abandon the concept of the bill, instead that could be addressed as it is debated in Lansing, "right now people are debating whether it should be totally anonymous what we could have is the confidentially when that person would have to identify themselves so there could be some consequences on that individual should they attempt to use it improperly."
What do you think about the bill? Is it a good tool for law enforcement to track down drunk drivers or is this an invasion of privacy that could be abused? Should be anonymous or should the tipster be required to identify themselves? Let me know where you stand, leave a comment with your thoughts.
