Press Releases

Stop Drunk Driving, a Challenge for Entire Community: By KEN NORWOOD

COMMENTARY
Friday October 22, 2004

The following small sampling of articles regarding DUI caused deaths from metropolitan newspapers is only the tip of the drunk driving catastrophe that continues unabated just in the Bay Area: “Motorist convicted in teacher’s death” “3 vehicular deaths on Memorial Day” (at least two DUI cases) “Driver slams mailbox, rider killed.” The Sept. 7 SF Chronicle reports “eight dead in Bay Area car accidents over holiday weekend—37 in state.” At least five of the drivers responsible were alleged to be DUI. In the article CHP Sgt. Wayne Ziese said, “Obviously, drinking and driving is still a problem here in the Bay Area.” 

Add all the DUI caused fatalities reported in the Bay Area to all of California’s DUI cases and you may find at least one death a day, of which most were victims in the other vehicles. 

On Aug. 15 another DUI victim was Charlene Agos, a beloved and dedicated mother of two children, wife to Hoche Agos, and assistant librarian at the Berkeley Library’s North Branch. The driver of the SUV that broadsided her car was one of “four men who had been drinking at a nearby bar” (Daily Planet, Sept. 7-9). 

But as in most news stories about DUI accident tragedies we are left relatively uninformed about the pre-accident drinking driver’s circumstances. When, where and why were they drinking before getting so soused that they became a danger to others? Could somebody or the bartender have alerted the police as soon as trouble came up? What other intervention could have saved her life?  

The public needs to know the full profile of DUI binging. Did it begin at home, a friend’s house, at a bar, in the car, at a party, a conference center, restaurant, a winery’s wine tasting room, or several of those? This insight may be the key to unlocking and peering into the mindset of the drinking driver, or at least to pose possible interventions to preempt drinkers from driving. 

The DUI problem is such a serious epidemic that it must become a mandated challenge for the entire community. This means absolutely everyone must get into the prevention act before the driver gets drunk and before they get behind the wheel and turn the key. 

Of course, the knee-jerk response will tend to be increased DUI punishment and more intense post-conviction therapy added to existing statutes. But such after-the-crime reactions cannot return lost lives and heal damaged bodies. Punishment should not be the only answer for stopping DUI crashes, nor most other crimes. Pre-emptive solutions that begin with the root causes are desperately needed, which will mean more open communication between the potential drinking driver and all those who may come in contact with them, from long before the first “one too many.” 

Prudent intervention can occur in numerous ways, from how DUI crash articles are written, to subtle reminders to strong warning labeling on alcohol bottles and advertisements, to advisory warnings from bar tenders and servers, to frequently and well-placed messages, articles, and signs in all the media formats, and in high school, college, and university class rooms and curriculum. Even self-testing breath-a-lators need to be tried. 

The above suggestions can be voluntarily done beginning now by all the institutions within our communities. But knowing human frailties as they are, it may be better for such preemptive techniques to be jump-started by well-organized and coordinated programs encompassing public entities, private businesses, churches, service clubs, and nonprofits. Teamwork between law enforcement agencies and the news media can contribute valuable public education information regarding the issue raised above in the third paragraph. For starters, newspapers could take the lead by digging a little deeper into police reports concerning the pre-crash circumstances of the DUI driver.  

The police and CHP can improve their crash scene investigation and questioning of the driver, as well as a post-crash investigation of how and where the driver exceeded the alcohol content level. This line of investigation may require State Attorney General and court rulings, and legislation, and congressional legislation. Producers and sellers of alcoholic drinks need to be brought into the circle of concerned community members. This should not morph into a punitive and heavy-handed regulatory process but become a wise and innovative inquiry that encourages volunteer ways to preempt drinking drivers. Perhaps the Governor can be persuaded to appoint a citizens DUI Study Commission. 

The stacking up of DUI crash and DOA statistics, and the increased array of broken lives is now beyond a problem, it is a huge, costly tragedy that requires immediate actions at multiple levels.