Apply The Robin Vos 'Everyone-Is-Doing-It' Plan To Tougher OWI, Not Just Speed Limits

Wisconsin State Assembly GOP Speaker Robin Vos told the Racine Journal Times Wisconsin's top speed limit should be boosted to 70 mph from 65 because everyone else is doing it:

Vos said he supported the move because it would bring Wisconsin in line with its neighboring Midwestern states.

When it comes to highway policy, Wisconsin shouldn't stand apart. he explained to The Journal Sentinel:

"Wisconsin will soon be the only state in the Midwest still at 65. Given the actions by other states, DOT officials were wise to begin researching this issue," Vos said in a statement.

Well, using that standard on consistent highway policy-making, I'd expect to see Vos leading the effort to have Wisconsin join the rest of the Midwest - - and every other state in the Union - - and make a first drunk driving arrest a misdemeanor instead of the Wisconsin-only first-offense ticket.

But Vos has yet to get behind current efforts in the Legislature even tweak state OWI statutes and make OWI offenses into misdemeanors if offenders had blood alcohol counts of 0.15 or higher - - just about twice the legal BAC limit of 0.08.

The continued challenges facing the effort were clear Monday, with Gov. Scott Walker and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) endorsing the principle of a crackdown on intoxicated driving but stopping short of backing the specific measures.

We could have higher speed limits in Wisconsin, but the Governor and the Assembly Speaker still won't toughen OWI enforcement on those same roads.

Add speed, but back down on sobriety.

Make sense?