Serial Drunk Drivers

A pregnant 24-year-old woman, Katelyn Melia, was driving her SUV in Quincy, MA last month when it was struck by a vehicle allegedly driven by a repeat drunk driver, who was high on drugs, and driving with a suspended license as a result of multiple prior offenses.

After an emergency C-section, Katelyn Melia’s newborn daughter remains hospitalized in critical condition; the mother’s injuries were less severe.

In the wake of this and other recent crashes caused by repeat drunk/drugged drivers, toughened penalties have been proposed in the Massachusetts Legislature, but, as a Boston Herald editorial put it, “no matter what steps are taken, some drivers insist on getting behind the wheel and wreaking havoc on the roads.”

The question is, doesn’t there come a point at which a drunk/drugged driver with multiple convictions should be judged an imminent danger to himself and others and taken off the roads permanently -- or, at a minimum, placed under permanent house arrest after work-hours, using an ankle bracelet to track his movements? Of course, the same question can be posed with respect to other categories of criminals, such as repeat child molesters. Where do we draw the line in protecting the rights of repeat offenders while protecting the lives of innocent people?