
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, September 6, 1993                   TAG: 9310280321
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVID MILLER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BRING BACK STATE'S CONFISCATION LAW

WHAT ON EARTH is wrong with the people we elect to make and enforce the laws in our society? The vehicle-confiscation law for habitual offenders was repealed because it was costing more money than it was bringing in. So what?

It is generally accepted that the main purpose of government is to accomplish things that are good for society that will not be taken on commercially, precisely because they are unprofitable in a monetary sense. There are probably very few activities of government that pay for themselves, and that's why government has the power to tax. If the ability to be self-supporting were to determine what government does and does not do, then we wouldn't need government in the first place. Some things have a value that cannot be stated in terms of dollars and cents. Saving innocent motorists from being slaughtered by some irresponsible idiot is one of them.

Some politicians are arguing that it is difficult to protect the rights of lien-holders under a confiscation law. Nonsense! The names of habitual offenders are a matter of public record. Lenders should check before they make vehicle loans to habitual offenders. In fact, it should be made illegal for them to make such loans. In those cases where an individual becomes a habitual offender after the fact, the state should confiscate the vehicle. Then it should be turned over to the lien-holder to recover its interest. Any excess proceeds of the sale would go to the state. What's so complex about that?

The other big argument used against confiscation has to do with protecting the rights of co-owners. I'll bet there aren't many individuals entering into co-ownership of a vehicle without knowing something about their partner's driving habits. So why shouldn't they assume the risk of losing their investment if they decide to co-own a vehicle with a dangerous driver? The same goes for anyone who loans a vehicle to a person with a suspended license. You have to shut all the doors if you want to keep the horse in the barn!

For those who favor jail time after someone is killed, they just don't get it. By then it's too late! Can't politicians see that? The idea is to keep people from getting killed or maimed in the first place. Are you counting on the drunken-driver vote to put you in office and keep you there? Better not, because the responsible citizens of Virginia simply are not going to put up with your failure to protect them and their loved ones any more. You had better get busy and do what needs to be done before you or someone you love becomes the next victim of a highway murderer.

Already this year, in the Roanoke area alone, five have been murdered. How many more have suffered excruciating pain, terror and disfigurement? What is it going to take to stop this?

\ David Miller of Rocky Mount is a computer programmer analyst for a health-care company in Roanoke.

by CNB