Funding, safety must come before drinking
With a constant emphasis on keeping alcohol away from Tennessee highways, it’s only logical to wonder if state lawmakers didn’t indulge in a few too many drinks when allowing motor vehicle passengers to continue to drink.
Once again, our General Assembly has forfeited millions in federal highway construction dollars because it refuses to ban open containers of alcohol in cars, trucks and SUVs.
The way the law stands now – and a number of people don’t realize this – everyone in a motor vehicle can legally drink except for the driver. If five people are piled in a car on the way to Knoxville, then four of them can be chugging beers, putting back mixed drinks, or even taking shots of liquor. If that car happened to be pulled over, such behavior would be completely legal – provided the driver managed to fight off the urge to drink and remained sober.
The unfortunate fact is with people drinking all around, the driver is more likely to give in to temptation. It’s called peer pressure. If everyone in the car is drinking, it stands to reason the driver would be more inclined to drink as well.
Encouraging on-the-road partying is not the direction our state needs to travel. If people want to drink, that’s their business. But for lawmakers interested in saving lives, it’s not smart to allow drinking in a vehicle traveling 70 mph.
National statistics show motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people age 1-24. In Tennessee, alcohol was involved in 43 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2001.
Drinking and driving should not be tolerated. That’s the reason state lawmakers lowered the legal blood-alcohol limit from .10 to .08 in a new law which takes effect July 1. Why they wouldn’t continue down that same road and also prohibit alcohol consumption in vehicles makes little sense.
What adds to the puzzle is the fact Tennessee is one of only 14 states forfeiting highway construction dollars by allowing open alcohol in cars. For a state grasping for every available penny, and slashing budgets across the board, turning down federal funds is the same as wasting taxpayer dollars. It’s money which is not being used to the best of the state’s ability.
In defending the move, state Rep. Ulysses Jones (D-Memphis) said football fans on the way to a game would be penalized unfairly if Tennessee stopped allowing open containers. Maybe Jones and the rest of our lawmakers should be more concerned with whether those fans arrive at the game safely and get home in one piece. Enough drinking takes place in the parking lot. It doesn’t have to happen on the road too.
The next time you hear a state legislator talk about stretching tax dollars, remember Tennessee lost over $5 million from road construction funds last year. That penalty increased to almost $12 million this year.
If every dollar counts, that’s a bank vault worth of money which is not being properly utilized. Coupled with the fact it allows alcohol to flow freely on Tennessee roadways and it’s a poor all-around decision.