All drivers must be held accountable

I must point out the hypocrisy of your lukewarm editorial on May 5 concerning the dangers of driving while distracted in light of the crusade you have been engaging in against driving while intoxicated.

For years, you have aggressively demanded harsher and harsher penalties for driving under the influence, to the point where it is necessary, in every news story concerning a major traffic incident, to state whether drugs or alcohol were, or were not, involved. The result is an implication that one is a crime, the other a tragedy.

Yet the consequences are the same. In our zeal to prevent driving while intoxicated, we have forgotten that the reason for the harsh, some would say draconian, penalties is to prevent horrible consequences such as the death on Route 12 of motorcyclist Anita Zaffke. Why should the driver who hit her escape a charge of reckless homicide simply because she was sober while painting her fingernails?

The penalty for being pulled over for a burned out taillight after having been drinking is a loss of driving privileges, plus $5,000 to $10,000 in fines and lawyers' fees. The penalty for running a red light, even in a busy intersection, is a $100 ticket, payable by mail.

It is time we held all drivers equally responsible for the consequences of their actions, whether their excuse is being drunk, distracted, or just in a hurry.

Stephen Lindley

Wauconda