Bumper Stickers for DUI Offenders

Bumper Stickers Ordered for Drunk Drivers

Posted on Wed, Sep. 24, 2003

Associated Press

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Some motorists convicted of drunken driving may have to wear it on the bumper.

A judge in Florida is ordering some of the convicted offenders to place bumper stickers on their cars that ask "How's my driving?" followed by a toll-free telephone number.

The stickers ends with the statement "The judge wants to know!!!"

Escambia County Judge William White said he hopes the bumper stickers, which include an identification number for each driver, will reduce repeat offenses for driving under the influence of alcohol.

"We want to influence people to correct their behavior rather than just use this as sort of a monitoring system," White said.

White said he tried to use bumper stickers saying only "Convicted DUI" in the past simply to shame violators. He hopes the call-in stickers will be a stronger deterrent.

In late August he began ordering motorists convicted of drunken driving to pay an annual fee of $50 to enroll in the monitoring system offered by the I Saw You Safety and Scholarship Foundation as a condition of probation.

The Pensacola-based foundation provides the same service to parents of teenage drivers, borrowing the idea from trucking companies that use similar stickers to monitor their drivers.

I See You plans to donate half of its enrollment fees to scholarships for victims of drunken drivers.

The program has been approved for the 1st Judicial Circuit, which covers four counties in the Florida Panhandle, and some other judges are beginning to use it, foundation spokesman David Richbourg said Monday. He said legislation also is being sought to make the program mandatory across the state, but critics have questioned the tactic.

"I see this as providing very little deterrent," Pensacola lawyer Richard Alvoid said. "Punishment should be enough rather than also shaming people."

University of West Florida student David Blume agrees.

"It's like a scarlet letter," Blume said. "If you know you could go to jail from drunk driving, I don't see why a bumper sticker would be more of a deterrent."

White said embarrassment "comes with the turf when you're committing crimes."

Doug Meyers, an insurance adjuster from nearby Pace, said the shame is worth it if prevents traffic deaths.

"If people are embarrassed, they shouldn't drink and drive," Meyers said.

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Offenders Tagged with DUI Stickers

Others Can Call, Report Driving to Monitors

Published Monday, September 22, 2003

By Gina Pace

News Journal Correspondent

An Escambia County judge is using a dose of public shame to help keep drunken drivers off the roads.

Judge William White routinely is requiring those convicted of driving under the influence to attach a red and yellow bumper sticker that reads: "How is my driving? Call Toll-Free 1-866-I- SAW-YOU The Judge wants to know!!!"

He hopes it will reduce repeat offenses and ultimately reduce the number of DUIs.

"I am open to new ideas that might assist in reducing the number of DUIs and recidivism," White said. "We want to influence people to correct their behavior rather than just use this as a sort of monitoring system."

The service is operated by the I Saw You Safety and Scholarship Foundation, a Pensacola-based organization. The foundation monitors calls to the toll-free number from the public and notifies law enforcement if necessary.

"Bumper stickers asking about driving have reduced accidents in commercial trucking by 50 percent," said David Richbourg, the foundation's director of marketing and media relations. `'We created a program for teen drivers, and we have come up with other applications for our monitoring service, such as impaired drivers."

White tried using bumper stickers in the past but said they were problematic because there was no monitoring system, and the old stickers read "Convicted DUI." The new bumper stickers could be used for other driving, alcohol or drug offenses. However, since White started using I SAW YOU stickers in late August, they have been issued only in DUI cases as a condition of parole.

White is the only judge using the decals. Kim Skievaski, chief judge of the First Judicial Circuit, approved the decals for use as a sentencing tool.

Offenders must pay $50 per year that they are enrolled in the decal program. Usual probation periods for DUIs last for six months to one year. Decals must be placed on all household cars.

The safety foundation plans to donate half of enrollment fees to scholarships for victims of drunken driving.

Jerry Fifer, a member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and a victim of a drunken driving accident, fully supports the initiative.

"I think it's a great deterrent once people realize it is going to get smacked on their cars," he said. "I spoke at Pace High School and showed the bumper sticker, and one student said, `Mom or Dad better not get one because it would end up on my car.' It will help if people in families are pressuring each other not to drink and drive."

But other think the stickers cast an unnecessary stigma on the person driving.

"I see this as providing very little deterrent," said Pensacola attorney Richard Alvoid. "Punishment should be enough rather than also shaming people."

University of West Florida student David Blume agrees.

"It's like a scarlet letter," Blume said. "If you know you could go to jail for drunk driving, I don't see why a bumper sticker would be more of a deterrent."

White thinks that embarrassment "comes with the turf when you're committing crimes."

"If it's a wholly distasteful experience, they may make the decision that they won't do this again," he said.

Doug Meyers, an independent insurance adjuster from Pace, thinks the shame those convicted would face is worth it if the policy can prevent fatalities.

"If people are embarrassed, they shouldn't drink and drive," he said.

White said the sticker program is worth an experiment.

"This doesn't cost a lot. It's embarrassing, but if it results in a few lives saved, it is pretty minimal," White said. "Maybe one of these days we'll find something that will be a solution."