Treatment, stiff penalties best ways to reduce DUIs

As a follow-up to my previous post, I’m reprinting this article from the Cincinnati Enquirer. Thanks for the link, Jon.

A sunny Sunday morning, a straight, flat road and a group of enthusiastic bicyclists. It seemed a perfect summer morning until, police say, a car crossed the centerline, crashed into the group and killed local residents Amy Gehring and Terry Walker.

And then the police account took an all-too-familiar turn: Alcohol or drugs likely contributed to the crash.

INTERVENE EARLY

Besides heartache and furor, the July 16 Crosby Township tragedy caused a restless search for appropriate punishments - and possible prevention. But the interest and energy come too late. The time to prevent such disasters is before an impaired driver slips behind the wheel of the car.

On that point, at least, it is possible to find answers.

The statistics behind such tragedies shed light on the problem of drunk driving and may help shape prevention efforts. It’s a pressing public-health concern - in 2004, 16,694 Americans died in alcohol-related accidents, a fourth of all traffic deaths.

Centers for Disease Control says three-quarters of those convicted in DUI cases are frequent heavy drinkers or alcoholics. And one-third of drivers arrested for or convicted of driving under the influence are repeat offenders.

Those statistics contradict the rhetoric that most DUI offenders were simply innocents caught in a one-time circumstance. Most, in fact, play Russian roulette with alcohol and vehicles. And a large number don’t stop drinking the first time they’re caught.

STOP THE DRIVING

And most convicted drivers with suspended licenses don’t stop driving. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, half to three-fourths of drunk drivers with suspended licenses continue to drive - poorly. A third of second-time DUI offenders and half of third-time offenders with suspended licenses received violations or were involved in crashes.

In a sense, what that all adds up to is what doesn’t work - why many drunk drivers don’t stop drinking or driving.

But there is growing consensus on prevention that works.

MADD, the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and the National Commission Against Drunk Driving all agree mandatory treatment programs are at least partially effective.

They promote recovery - the only real long-term solution to a problem that exhibits itself as a crime but is at heart an illness - and they reduce recidivism. MADD reports that DUI offenders who enter treatment show a 7 percent to 9 percent drop in recidivism.

TAKE THE CARS

Limiting offenders’ access to vehicles - not just their possession of driving licenses - also helps. In California, first-time offenders whose vehicles were impounded had a fourth fewer crashes and repeat offenders had 38 percent fewer. Studies in Maryland and California show that alcohol-triggered ignition locks reduced repeat DUI offenses by 65 percent to 90 percent.

And taking an all-around tougher stand reduces impaired driving as well - mandatory license revocation, lowering the blood alcohol calculation to .08, mandatory substance-abuse assessment and sobriety checkpoints on roadways.

RECOGNIZING WHAT WORKS

States are beginning to build consensus on some aspects of DUI law. Now all states have adopted 21 as the legal drinking age, and two-thirds allow police officers to take the license of drivers who refuse a breath test. Many states have lowered the limit for blood alcohol concentration from .10 to .08 and a dozen states penalize underage drivers for any measurable amount of alcohol in their systems.

In a nutshell, the effective approach is to require treatment, limit access to vehicles and - especially - act decisively on the first offense. “We cannot wait for a repeat offender to be caught a second time by the legal system,” the National Commission Against Drunk Driving states on its web site. We couldn’t agree more.

I agree with what the article has to say, although I do wonder if the money and resources spent on mandatory treatment couldn’t be put to better use (a 7 percent to 9 percent drop in recidivism isn’t too impressive). I’m all for treatment, recovery, and rehabilitation, but, treatment is only truly effective if the person actually wants to get better. On the other hand, 7 to 9 percent is better than nothing.
The good news is: Statistically, alcohol related traffic fatalities are on the decline, albeit a very slow and gradual decline.

Motorist With Suspended License Accused Of Killing 2 Bicyclists

Sickening news from the Cincinnati area (courtesy of WLWT):

Mon Jul 17, 6:54 PM ET

A bicycle outing turned deadly when two people were struck and killed by an oncoming car shortly before noon Sunday.

Deputies said 25-year-old Anthony Gerike, of Batavia, lost control of his Geo Tracker along on New Haven Road near Crosby Road. He went left of center and drove head-on into a group of 10 cyclists that was traveling westbound, officials said.

Investigators said Gerike’s car continued to travel out of control and also hit a Chevrolet Cavalier that was traveling behind the group.

Two bikers, 51-year-old Amy Gehring, of Cincinnati, and 53-year-old Terry Walker, of Fairfield, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

“I just started crying. I couldn’t believe it,” Walker’s neighbor Darlene Baldock said. “It was a shame, especially the way it happened — very senseless.”

A passenger in the Cavalier, Frank Meeker, 48, of Fairfield, was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Gerike was transported from the scene to University Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries.

He has been released into the custody of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department and faces two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and driving with a suspended license.

Gerike was in court Monday, and a judge set his bail at $1 million.

Deputies said Gerike’s license was suspended only a month ago and has been suspended a total of six times.

The sheriff’s office said that alcohol and/or drugs were a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.

I don’t even know where to begin… What do you do, short of life imprisonment (which doesn’t sound like such a bad idea) to stop these people? I could easily write a thousand words on all of the ways that this story is fucked up, but I won’t. At least not right now. Right now I’m long on outrage and short on solutions; maybe later.

Anthony Gerike was convicted of aggravated drug possession in Clermont County after an arrest in January 2004. His current case will go to a grand jury on July 26.

What is the Price For Taking a Human Life?

Here is the aforementioned rant, read or skim the previous post for an idea of what I’m all worked up about.

Apparently here in Xenia, Ohio (the self-proclaimed “Bicycle Capital of the Midwest”) it’s $17,175.91 and 60 days in jail, if the victim happens to be a cyclist and the weapon an automobile.

Each time I hear about one of these (all too common) tragedies my sense of outrage and disgust rises exponentially. Have we, as a people become so blinded by our love affair with the automobile?

Automobile “accidents” are the leading cause of death among our 16-20 year olds; not guns, drugs, AIDS, or cigarettes… cars. If people were being killed and maimed at a similar rate by any other means (about 42,000 Americans killed per year), the public outcry would be overwhelming; but hey, we love our cars, we gotta drive, we’ve got places to go, we’re busy people!

Now, I’m not some radical proposing we do away with cars altogether, but what I am suggesting is that we hold ourselves to a higher standard. I’m sick of people acting with wanton disregard for anything other than getting to their destination as quickly as possible, killing someone then shrugging their shoulders and saying, “It was just an accident.”

If drivers faced serious punishment and extended jail time for killing or maiming someone through negligence, carelessness, or downright aggressiveness; I don’t think they would be so cavalier about buzzing by at 70MPH six inches from my handlebars. And maybe, just maybe, the streets would be safer for all of us.

Dayton Bus Driver Arrested On Drug Charges

When I first saw the headline for this story, I thought; “Geez, they caught some poor schmoe with a little bit of reefer and now he’s going to lose his job and maybe go to jail.” Of course, I pictured him in my mind as “Otto” from the Simpsons, but anyway…

It turns out that this dude sold a kilo of cocaine to undercover cops. Let me repeat that; a kilo… 1000 grams… 2.2 pounds of cocaine!

Holy crap, how much are they paying school bus drivers these days that they can afford kilos of cocaine? And how is it that a city the size of Dayton has that kind of supply? I mean seriously, this isn’t L.A. or Atlanta we’re talking about, it’s Dayton Ohio, a city of ~165,000 people. That’s a gram of coke for every 165 people in the whole city. I find it hard to imagine that 1 out of every 165 Daytonians (Daytonites?) has the desire (not to mention the disposable income) for a gram of cocaine.

Good Answer!

Ex-’Family Ties’ Actor Accused of DUI

June 2, 2004 03:50 PM EDT

BOULDER, Colo. - Brian Bonsall, the youngest member of the Keaton clan on television’s “Family Ties,” was arrested last week on suspicion of drunken driving.

Bonsall, 22, was arrested early Friday by police who said they saw someone vomit out the passenger side window of his car. Asked how much he had to drink, Bonsall responded, “Plenty,” then failed a roadside test.

Police said a blood test showed he had “excess alcohol content” but did not disclose the exact amount.

Bonsall, who lives in Boulder, starred as Andy Keaton for three seasons on the NBC sitcom in the late 1980s that helped launch the career of Michael J. Fox. Bonsall later appeared in episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and the 1993 film “Father Hood.”

Bonsall was convicted of drunken driving in 2001 and his license was suspended, police said.

That’s a good answer… “plenty”. Not quite as good as my favorite reply to a foolish cop question (From “COPS”).

Foolish Cop: Why did you run away?
Shirtless Hillbilly: I was trying to get away from you bastards.