I am not a reader or worrier of too many statistics, however as a long time member of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), I am concerned about what our state and country is doing to help there be No More Victims. Drunk driving stubbornly remains the number one killer on America’s roads. And then add drugged driviing, along with the alcohol, it increases the impairment.
In Minnesota one out of seven drivers has one or more DUI’s. ( Driving Under the Influence) Beginning in 2002 the state piloted an interlock program called Alcolock in two counties, one in the metro area and one in the rural part of the state. It was successful, and in the next years the program was expanded to include all counties. In 2011 it became a state law, as it is in many states.
First time offenders with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .16% and above, and all repeat offenders are required to have interlock devices installed on the vehichles they drive. IF they choose NOT to use these devices, they lose driving privileges from one to two years. Offenders with three or more DUI’s in ten years are required to use the interlock system for three-six years.
The state’s Ignition Interlock Program is growing. In the last three years, the devices installed has doubled. Evaluations of this program recommends that ALL offenders should participate in the program which means there would be no choice in the matter. It is also recommended that some of the other requirements be lifted so it would be affordable for more offenders.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving currently uses Victim Impact Panels (VIP’s) to turn tragedy into purpose. These are videos of real people telling their horrific stories of losiing their loved ones to a drunk drving accicent. They share their heartbreaking stories without judgement. Each year these videos are shown to more than 200,000 driving offenders through 3,500 VIP’s across the nation.
Attendance is usually court mandated due to a DUI, but most attendees did not injure anyone. The victims volunteer to speak to a roomful of offenders.
VIP’s put the face of MADD and the face of the crime in front of people who have already made bad choices. It is hoped that these stories will be heard, and that the offenders will understand and make better choices the next time. Victims share details about the day that forever shook their world and their loved ones taken. It is meant to be a wake-up call to offenders. This sharing by VIP’s serves two purposes: It is a theraputic chance to share the incredibly sad reality that forever changed their lives, and an opportunity to help prevent the nightmare from happening to someone else.
There is new legislation being proposed to make advanced alcohol detection technology a standard feature on all new cars. This was proposed last July by a congresswoman in Michigan during the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s hearing on vehichle safety. This bill would also fund a test fleet of vehichles equipped with the technology, which could expedite the availability to consumers. This bill came about when an entire Michigan family was killed by a drunk driver.
Soon there will also be VIP’s videos available especially for traffic enforcement officers to remind them of the importance of their role in impacting DUI’s.
Impaired driving takes one person’s life here, and another couple there, so nobody seriously notices the impact…unless it is YOUR family. If all 10,000 people killed by impaired drivers every year were killed in ONE DAY…everyone would pay attention!
