(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-31 07:16

A year has passed since a horrific drunken driving accident in the city of Fukuoka left three children dead. On August 25 last year, a sport utility vehicle carrying a family of five, including three young children, was rear-ended by another car driven by a drunken municipal government employee on a bridge over Hakata Bay. The SUV plunged into the water and all the children were killed.

The accident provoked a nationwide chorus of calls for stiffer penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol. Legislation enacted in response to the campaign has not just raised penalties for driving after drinking, it also punishes passengers who drank with the driver and those who provided drivers with drinks or vehicles.

The legal crackdown is probably acting as a deterrent to people who, against their better judgment, think that a small amount of alcohol will not seriously affect their driving. There are also some encouraging signs that Japanese society is becoming much less tolerant of drunken driving.

Still, drinking and driving remains a serious social evil and a major cause of tragic accidents. In June, an Osaka Prefecture man drove a car in the city of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, after drinking for more than 12 hours. The was involved in a hit-and-run accident that killed a pedestrian and then a collision with a taxi that killed the driver and a passenger.

Tomomi Imanari, who heads ASK, a nonprofit organization for preventing alcohol and drug problems, acknowledges the effects of the tougher penalties. But she argues that behind the problem is a legion of alcoholics and a larger number of people who are developing alcohol dependence.

Alcohol dependence, or alcoholism, is a chronic mental disease. Patients cannot control their desires to drink alcohol and show certain symptoms, including shakes that can only be stopped with the consumption of alcohol.

A research group at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare estimates there are some 800,000 alcoholics nationwide and about 4.4 million suspected patients.

These people tend to refuse to admit their problem; fewer than 20,000 of them are receiving treatment, according to the ministry.

In the United States, courts in many states order people arrested for drunken driving to undergo education and treatment programs on drinking problems. This approach was first adopted along with legal punishment in the 1970s and has since spread throughout much of the country.

Awareness of the seriousness of the problem has been growing in Japan as well. In April, the government set up a special panel to promote measures to deal with repeat offenders. But this program covers only people who have already caused grave accidents. A more active approach is needed.

All people arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, irrespective of the amount, should be legally required to receive the kind of rigorous education and treatment programs that are mandated in the United States. This rule must be strictly enforced to ensure that offenders complete the programs properly. As for alcoholics, they should be banned from driving until they are completely cured of the disease.

Some automakers are developing equipment that locks down a vehicle when it detects drunkenness. Such efforts should also be promoted.

Drunken driving is a serious crime that can result in deaths. Collective wisdom should be mobilized to prevent tragedies caused by drunken drivers.

The Asahi Shimbun

(China Daily 08/31/2007 page11)