Tennessee will make drunk drivers wear a scarlet letter [View All]

[Thom Little]

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 Jan. 1, convicted drunken drivers are required to do 24 hours of roadside cleanup while wearing orange vests emblazoned with the phrase "I am a Drunk Driver."

The new law is aimed at first-time offenders, says one of its sponsors, state Rep. Charles Curtiss.

"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," Curtiss said. "Hopefully you can turn them around to never become a second-time offender."



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