New Beginnings

To the Editor: 
I completed the New Beginnings program run by Cape Counseling. I was required to attend after an assessment which was required by the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC) after a DUI (driving under the influence) offense.
It’s a well-meaning program run by, for the most part, empathetic, caring counselors who provided some insightful, thought-provoking information, but it falls on deaf ears. If it was voluntary and attended by people who wanted to change, it would be different.
New Beginnings, as it applies to IDRC, is intrusive, expensive, and a waste of time for everybody. It’s supposed to allow Cape Counseling to determine that an offender won’t re-offend.
It can’t be effective. You can’t talk people into changing their behavior. They are just going through the motions because they don’t know what else to do or they like the status quo.
Here are my ideas:
1. Jail. It’s a memorable experience, and much fairer than fines and surcharges that weigh too heavily on the poor.
One week for the first offense, one month for the second, and six months for the third. I did six months and it made enough of an impression that I won’t re-offend, and if I had received a week for the first, I probably wouldn’t have done it again.
Our jails are far too black and Hispanic anyway. Let’s face it; they aren’t the only ones who deserve to be there.
2. Breathalyzer set at .05 maybe for life.
3. Most DUIs don’t happen when someone drinks at home and then decides to go drive around. They happen when someone leaves a bar or restaurant and tries to drive home.
Make establishments that serve alcohol partially accountable for the people they are over serving. With your third drink comes a free Uber ride home or if that’s too expensive, have a two-drink maximum.
No one ever seems to want to make any hard choices, especially our politicians.