DRIVING CHANGES

Balancing personal responsibility with state regulation, as a government task force on dangerous drivers acknowledges, is a difficult job. The task force, convened less than a month ago, has found that balance and developed several good recommendations for solving a long-standing problem. Many of their suggestions rightly focus on stiffer penalties for those who repeatedly flout state driving rules.

The problem became a focus of public debate after a Caribou truck driver with dozens of convictions and 23 license suspensions was involved in a fatal accident in Hallowell. According to Bureau of Motor Vehicle records, Scott Hewitt had 63 driving convictions and his license had been suspended 23 times when his truck slammed into the back of a car driven by Tina Turcotte, who died of her injuries. He was arrested on Aug. 6 for driving when his license was suspended. This week he was convicted of more violations and remained in jail.

Although Mr. Hewitt may be one of the state’s worst offenders, nearly 71,000 Maine residents had their licenses suspended last year. According to Secretary of State Office estimates, 68,000 drivers have had their licenses suspended five times and 8,000 drivers have had their licenses suspended 15 or more times.

After the accident, Gov. Baldacci asked state officials to consider changes to state laws. They have come up with several, which would need to be enacted by the Legislature. The task force recommends that several state statutes dealing with habitual offenders and operating under suspension be toughened. The group also called for a permanent revocation of a driver’s license in extreme cases. There is no such provision in state law now except in cases involving drunken driving. Although the details of these law changes have yet to be worked out, they should strongly be considered by lawmakers when they return to Augusta early next year.

In the meantime, the task force had suggestions for immediate action. An important one is to consider the impact of increased jail time or judicial proceedings, which will come with tougher penalties, on already stressed corrections and court systems.

Another recommendation is the secretary of state to share with law enforcement personnel the identities and driving records of the 100 Mainers with the worst driving records. This is to help law enforcement personnel be aware of individuals who are likely to continue driving after their licenses have been suspended or to violate other motor vehicle laws.

Another suggestion is to develop a Web site to publicize the worst drivers. Before going down this road, the sharing of information between the secretary of state and law enforcement officials must be shown to be beneficial. For example, does this sharing reduce the number of people who continue to drive after their licenses are suspended? There is little reason to broadly distribute the identities of bad drivers if there is no public benefit.

The Maine Motor Carrier Review Board was also asked to consider ways to improve the safety of the trucking industry. It is specifically asked to consider whether brokers who hire drivers should face more liability.

As the task force work shows, a combination of better communication and tougher penalties is the best way to crack down on driving scofflaws.