OWI Enforcement Stepped Up - - Belatedly And Temporarily

Lots of hoopla Friday over the beginning Saturday of a targeted effort to catch drunk drivers.

Wisconsin is woefully behind other states in OWI legislation, so enforcement in the state suffers, too.

The crackdown, focused on better coordination and communication among police agencies, is timed to begin on the one-year anniversary of a high-profile crash in Oconomowoc, allegedly caused by a repeat OWN offender, that killed pregnant school teacher Jennifer Bukosky and her daughter Courtney Bella.

The program gets more publicity because it is tied to the anniversary of the Oconomowoc crash, but this effort and other alternatives could have been underway months, even years ago.

What will follow this every-other Saturday intensified effort, scheduled in the area into June?

Better laws? Tougher enforcement? Political leadership?

I doubt it.

The legislative process in Wisconsin is distorted by powerful alcohol lobbies and institutional thoughtlessness that coddles drunken drivers and makes life cheap on our highways.