To cut down on highway deaths and get drunk drivers off the road, a California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would get the public involved in solving the problem. Sen. Robert Calderon proposed legislation would pay $100 to anyone who reports a drunken driver who ends up being convicted of DUI.Calderon's bill comes on the heels of a Office of Traffic Safety report that 791 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes in the state in 2010.
And how does cash-strapped California come up with the $100 to pay tipsters? Rep. Calderon's bill has that covered too. Under the proposed law, the courts would order the convicted drunk driver to pay the $100, if convicted as a result of a citizen's tip.
In many states, the highway patrol has signs with a special number that cell phone users can use to report drunk driving. Of course, in any jurisdiction, drivers can call 9-1-1 to report a suspected drunken driver, and many do make those calls.
Perhaps a $100 bounty will get even more drunk drivers off the highways.
How to Report a Drunk Driver
California and other states already have guidelines for how to report a suspected intoxicated driver:
- Tell the dispatcher you want to report a drunk driver.
- Give the exact location of the vehicle, including the name of the street, cross streets. Give the direction the vehicle is traveling.
- Give a description of the vehicle, including make, model and color as well as the license plate number.
- Describe why you think the driver is intoxicated.
- Don't try to follow or detain the diver yourself.
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