 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Issue #24, September 8, 2006 |
Robin Hood
Cars Seized During DWI Busts Should Go to the Hamptons Locals
Drunk driving is a really big deal and people get killed every year because of it. Thankfully it is taken very seriously by the police and many drunk drivers are deterred from getting behind the wheel because of the strict laws here in Suffolk County.
If you don’t already know, police seize your car, among other things, if you are caught drunk driving. The problem for police right now, however, is that seizing the car and setting it up to be auctioned off or kept by police for undercover work is difficult to enforce for a number of reasons. The county only reimburses $200 for towing costs. Usually towing costs more. Impound lots get full and the hearings are a far way off for officers from the Hamptons to attend. Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman however, has developed an amendment that will ease these problems. The amendment makes the towing reimbursement go from $200 to $300, makes the hearings take place only in Riverhead when it comes to East End cases and has a rule that says the county has to transfer the vehicle within five business days to auction.
Police auctions for cars give car buyers an opportunity to purchase cars at low prices, However, they also pose a problem because if the car buyer lives near the former car owner, he can get kind of upset seeing another person driving around his/her car. Impound lots are still going to remain full because everybody knows that the county isn’t going to be able to handle the five-day transfer rule. There should be another way to get rid of these cars. After all, we are the Hamptons. Things are special here.
In many of these drunk-driving cases, summer tourists are the culprits and many times, they have totally sweet cars — Mercedes, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces, BMWs, Porsches. I mean, you name it, they are driving it. They purr like kittens up and down the streets of East Hampton, Southampton, Montauk, Shelter Island, Sag Harbor and everywhere in between.
If the impound lots are overcrowding, we shouldn’t let these cars waste away. Locals should get them. Here’s my idea.
We make an amendment to the seizure law that says should a tourist or second homeowner, or anybody that doesn’t call the Hamptons their home and also has a sweet car (a sweet car will be determined by this writer) get arrested for drunk driving, the car can get transferred over to a local, should the local want the car.
Now I know what you are thinking, how can we avoid mayhem? Locals might be fighting over certain cars. It will do more harm than good. But nay is what I say. I have already thought of this problem and have a solution. We create a master drunk seizure list.
Locals who want to participate in this law enforcement program have to register with the town and also log which cars they want. For example, if you write down you want a BMW X-5 and a Jaguar gets seized, then tough luck, the guy that wrote down Jaguar gets it. If a car gets seized that nobody wants, THEN you send it to auction.
Also, the town won’t let just any local get on this list. You can’t have any previous drunk driving record and your license better be clean. You also have to be a citizen of the United States. You will also have to pay all of the administrative costs of towing the vehicle and paper work, as well as have to contribute $100 to a state-sponsored anti drunk driving campaign.
Let’s get this amendment signed. I for one would like to be the first to register. Put me down for a Ferrari F430 Spider. Oh, is that car sweet, oh, man, is that car so sweet.
This could really solve the overcrowding of our impound lots.
Does anybody with a Ferrari F430 Spider want to go out for a drink later?
 |
