The man gets drunk and starts to go home. On the way, he hits a car. About 6 hours later, he wakes up in a hospital room. He will be okay after a year of so. The two children in the car he hit will live, hardly any injuries. The same can’t be said about the mother and father. One died right away. They other died in the hospital an hour later.

One child, eighteen months, will likely remember very little of her mother. The other child, five will remember the crash for the rest of his life. Both will go into into the system and will likely be adopted into different homes, if they are adopted at all.

The alcoholic who caused the crash, might actually feel really bad about, but not likely. The man is determined to have his liquor and he doesn’t care what it causes or what gets in the way. Before it’s all over, he will be arrested two more times for drunk driving. He might even kill more before it’s over.

The above story, I just made up on the spur of the moment. However, I have seen similarities. In some cases, it is the parents that die. In other cases, it’s the kids. I personally know of one woman who lost two of her three kids in an accident and spent a while in the hospital. Then about a year later, she lost the third child. All were lost to people driving under the influence.

Apparently, they don’t learn and apparently, they don’t care. Even when their driving privileges are revoked, they continue to drive and they continue to drink and they continue to kill. The only conclusion that I can draw is that they just don’t care. Apparently, nothing short of locking them up for a while will stop them from getting into a car and converting it into a weapon.

My guess is to head it off. The first time they are caught, they need to spend serous time in jail, that is besides any other laws they are guilty of breaking. Perhaps a six month stint in a jail will change their might about driving drunk. The second time, make it two years.

When they don’t care, we have to do something to keep them off the road, at least for a while. Apparently, revoking their license is not enough. Maybe, if the penalties are stiff enough, we can keep them from killing someone the first time. After all, as near as I can tell, right now all they get is a warning the first time. They need to get the first warning when they are issued the license and each time it is renewed. They need to know better before ever getting behind the wheel.

Then, maybe, just maybe, there won’t be so many parents without their children and children without their parents. We really ought not excuse crime as a sickness called alcoholism.