A judge in Ohio is ordering drunk drivers to download ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft as a condition of their probation, according to a report in the Willoughby News-Herald.
Painesville Municipal Court Judge Michael A. Cicconetti is known for his creative sentencing procedures, once forcing a drunk-driver to view crash victims’ bodies at a nearby morgue, but he considers his latest headline-grabber a simple dose of common sense. He said:
“It’s not one of those unusual sentences. There’s nothing crazy about it … Now that we have the technology and most people have the ability to do that, why not make it part of their sentence? If you can save one person from getting another OVI [Operating a Vehicle under the Influence], one person from getting into an accident, one person from hurting somebody else, it makes sense.”
Cicconetti began altering sentences in this manner late last month. Convicted OVI offenders going through his court will now be forced to download both ride-sharing apps and enter a valid credit card number before they’re allowed to go on probation.
[image via MikeDotta/Shutterstock]
Follow Colin Kalmbacher on Twitter: @colinkalmbacher
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