How and why do so many traffic menaces slip through the cracks of our judicial system to create new terror and turmoil?

Recently, a veteran firefighter in Kansas City was killed while on a fire run. His death, injuries to colleagues and extensive damage occurred because a driver with a history of impaired operation of a motor vehicle reportedly pulled in front of the fire truck in which the victim was riding.

Why should somebody like that still be functioning rather than being kept off the streets and highways? How many times do we read and hear about deadly accidents caused by people who should be legally denied the chance to get behind the wheel? Isn’t there far too much leniency in our system that allows mechanical misfits, most often drunken drivers, to operate in our midst?

The Lawrence area can identify with the accident in Kansas City. It, too, has had some horrible wrecks caused by people who are indulging in criminal behavior, meaning operating recklessly or under the influence of some substance or both. The Kansas City tragedy only serves to remind us how many people are driving who should not be allowed to do so.

And what will happen to the person, with a record, whose behavior led to the death of the firefighter. Will there be additional lack of punishment and a minimal period of probation that sets the stage for that predator to strike again?

We talk a lot about the various threats to our safety and security but improper operation of motor vehicles is just as much a health menace as many other problems. We have no immediate cure for many problems such as heart disease, cancer, AIDS and the like. We can and should do more to deal more harshly with people who operate motor vehicles in devastating ways.

The trouble is, we are not doing that effectively enough and until such people are punished more severely and consistently, we will continue to lose people like the veteran Kansas City firefighter.