After heartbreaking crashes that killed 6 people this month, all blamed according to police on drunk drivers, there is a call for a national drunk driving registry. I did some research and found the motor vehicle department has such a data base in place, under the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, but its not perfect. It is designed to catch people who are applying for a driver's license who shouldn't be because of various reasons... including license suspensions for drunk driving. But it isn't accessible to law enforcement, nor is it designed to be. Once you get in the area of federal bureaucracy, there are no simple, black and white answers. But it seems if there is a national data base of drivers' records for the DMV... there could be one for prosecutors to know exactly who they are prosecuting. For example, something that is a "point" issue for a driver's license may not register on a criminal check. )
Then again, I'm just a reporter and I'm sure there are about a million "what if's" that should be heard before legislation is enacted. But I'm also sure that the families of the victims think such information should be accessible.

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