Identify the accusers
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ne of the most difficult moments in life is when you have to tell Mom or Dad their driving skills make them a danger on the road. The hope, of course, is that this can be done before someone gets hurt as a result of your parent's diminished capacity behind the wheel of an automobile.
North Ogden's Sen. Allen Christensen feels the children's pain in situations like these, and is trying for the second year in a row to convince his legislative colleagues they should allow anonymous reporting of incompetent drivers to the state's Driver's License Division. Last year his effort fell short.
This year's effort is labeled Senate Bill 34, and our sincere hope is that it will fail once again.
The best, most succinct argument against SB 34, we think, comes from Christensen's fellow Weber County Sen. Scott Jenkins. He doesn't like the idea of anonymous accusers when it comes to pointing out someone's inability to drive safely.
"I believe you have a right to face your accusers," the Plain City Republican said in opposition to the measure. "This kind of allows somebody to sneak around that."
Indeed it does. So, is Utah really populated with people who don't have enough gumption to get incompetent drivers off the road? Especially when they're family members? We certainly hope not. Community responsibility ought to be the overriding concern in this situation, as well as the safety of the individual who isn't driving as well anymore. Avoidance of embarrassment should not be encouraged by state statute.
Christensen says the bill does not target elderly drivers, but would be applicable to incompetent drivers of all ages. Technically, that's true. But if we are to have an honest discussion on the topic of incompetent drivers, we're talking primarily about senior citizens who don't drive well anymore.
In an effort to sway lawmakers who were reluctant to support his bill last year, Christensen has added a requirement that while a tipster's identity would remain anonymous to the accused, the person making the accusation would have to provide a notarized document identifying themselves to the state officials involved in reviewing the competence of the allegedly unsatisfactory driver.
To our way of thinking, this makes the anonymity involved only slightly less offensive. Utahns should have the courage of their convictions. When they notice someone can no longer operate a vehicle safely, they need to ask them to stop driving and, if it's a friend or family member, make sure they get to and from the places they need to go. Or, if the incompetent driver remains uncooperative, they need to be reported to the state, and the state should be able to tell the accused exactly who made the allegation.
We're adults. We ought to be able to stand up for ourselves and not have to hide behind the cloak of government-allowed anonymity when identifying people who can't safely drive a car.
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