Gail Thomas will be laid to rest today at Mount Harmony Cemetery on Veterans Memorial Parkway in Mableton. Ms. Thomas was 46 years old and a 15-year veteran of the Atlanta Police Department. Her life was taken from her last week by a drunk driver.
It was a tragic death. It was an unnecessary death. It was a preventable death.
Ms. Thomas would be alive today if we, as a community, had demanded that all vehicles be equipped with blood alcohol sensors that would prevent drunk drivers from getting on the road.
The technology is here. The need is obviously here. The outrage to require this needs to be here.
Over 10,000 people every year lose their lives in the United States because of drunk drivers. Ten thousand. A majority of these deaths could be prevented, if we can stop drunk drivers from getting on the road.
There is technology now available that allows a simple finger scan to determine if you are under the influence of alcohol. If you are over the legal limit, your car won't start. It's that simple.
Most drunk drivers don't intend to drink and drive. But when you get drunk, you lose your ability to think rationally. You lose your ability to comprehend the damage that your actions could produce. A blood alcohol sensor installed in every vehicle would stop these intoxicated people from driving on the roadways.
Yes, we need tougher laws and punishment for drunk drivers. Yes, we need better drivers education. But when someone is drunk and tries to get behind the wheel, they aren't thinking about getting punished. They aren't thinking about the fact they could kill themselves or others. They don't have the ability in their drunken state to recognize this. They feel invincible.
I know most of you reading this are thinking "Well, I don't drink and drive, why should I be required to take a test every time I get behind the wheel?"
Well, I don't drink and drive either, but I drive to work every day at four-o'clock in the morning. I often see drunk drivers out on the road.
I know that I will never get behind the wheel after drinking, but I don't know that about anyone else with a car. Wouldn't you feel a lot safer if other drivers, including those that might drink and drive, would have to take a finger scan to detect alcohol before they got on the roads?
If not for yourself, wouldn't you feel better when your husband, wife, child, friend, co-worker got out on the roads knowing that a person who was drunk was unable to start their car?
I'm all for keeping government out of our homes, bedrooms and cars. But, when a drunk driver gets on a public road, they put others in danger. I'm not saying that if someone under the influence tries to drive, that the authorities are notified and they get in trouble. Not at all. I just don't want their vehicle to start. I don't want them to get on the road. I don't want to lose another Gail Thomas.
About the Author
