NATION IN BRIEF

Tennessee Uses Shame To Fight Drunk Driving

NASHVILLE -- A new Tennessee law is enlisting the power of shame to discourage drunken driving -- even though law enforcement, the governor and various experts are calling it an expensive and bad idea.

Starting Sunday, convicted drunken drivers are required to spend 24 hours cleaning roadsides while wearing orange vests emblazoned with the phrase "I am a Drunk Driver."

"You cause them to go out and pick up trash in front of their friends and neighbors, the embarrassment is going to be such that they're never going to want to go through that again," said state Rep. Charles Curtiss (D). "Hopefully you can turn them around to never become a second-time offender."

Jeanne Mejeur, a research manager at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver, said Tennessee's law "is pretty much a unique program nationally."

Tennessee offenders will have to spend at least one day in jail, followed by three eight-hour cleanup shifts. The previous minimum sentence for driving under the influence was 48 hours in jail.

Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall disagrees with the idea of trying to shame offenders into not driving drunk again, instead of treating them. "At the end of the weekend, we're going to have a person who has picked up a lot of litter but is still addicted to alcohol," he said.

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-- From News Services