Maryland’s New DUI Laws Called “In$ufficient”

Read between the lines here and look who is upset as their cash grab wasn’t put into the new DUI law in Maryland.

State’s new DUI laws are called insufficient
Mandatory treatment should be included, critics say

By Don Markus | [email protected]

Drunken driving laws that go into effect Wednesday are missing a key component – mandatory treatment for offenders – according to those who have had a vested interest in reducing alcohol- and drug-related traffic fatalities in Maryland.

Michael Gimbel, the former Baltimore County director of substance abuse whose program was used as a model by the National Commission Against Drunk Driving, contends that legislators should make treatment mandatory for all first-time offenders.

Of course he does – he stands to make lots of money treating all those first-time offenders.

In fact, Gimbel said, the term “first-time offender” is a misnomer when it comes to drunken drivers.

“The reality is that these people drove drunk hundreds of times before they got caught the first time,” said Gimbel, a former drug addict and alcohol addict.

How does Gimbel know this? What study is he referring to?

“I’m not saying that the laws are bad, that we shouldn’t have tough laws. We should. But we haven’t balanced it with any treatment,” said Gimbel, who now does consulting work on addiction and runs a hospital program warning high school athletes about steroids.

Do we have mandatory treatment for murders? Strong arm robbers? Rapists? Where’s Mr. Gimbel’s outrage calling for treatment for that segment of our society? Or could it be that his main concern is making money?

What’s MADD’s take on all this?

Caroline Cash, the executive director of the Maryland and Delaware chapters of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said her organization was disappointed that only four of 42 recommendations made by the task force passed both houses.

MADD’s recommendation to require those with at least one DUI to install an ignition interlock system, into which a motorist must blow before being able to start the car, was passed unanimously by the state Senate but did not even make it to the House for a vote.

Ah, yes. MADD. A group to whom the concept “innocent until proven guilty” means nothing. Fortunately, the Maryland House of Representatives still recalls that maxim of our justice system. Looks like MADD’s goal of a Prohibition Nation takes another hit.

Better luck next time.