MADD is hogging the road

Requiring that even light drinkers use breathalyzers in their cars is going too far.

 By Sarah Longwell

Last week, the House transportation committee unveiled the details of a six-year, $450 billion highway bill. Buried within is a controversial sentencing requirement for low-level, first-time drunken-driving offenders: ignition interlocks.

These in-car breathalyzers prevent vehicles from starting if a driver’s breath registers above a preset blood-alcohol concentration. Because they are so expensive, intrusive, and prone to technical failures, this penalty has typically been reserved for the most extreme offenders.

If the bill passes in its current form, Mothers Against Drunk Driving will be one step closer to its goal of prohibiting responsible adults from having a glass of wine with dinner before driving home.

The hospitality industry has already been working with traffic-safety advocates to require ignition interlocks for repeat offenders caught with high blood-alcohol concentrations. We’ve succeeded in 27 states. But under the new transportation bill, those states will be penalized if they do not impose the devices on first-time offenders – even those just one sip over the legal limit.

A 120-pound woman can reach the legal limit of 0.08 percent after two 6-ounce glasses of wine in a two-hour period. Under this proposed mandate, if such a woman drives, she could be punished with an interlock device – for behavior that is, according to several studies, no more dangerous than driving while talking on a hands-free cell phone.

Mandating ignition interlocks for all drunken-driving offenders is a one-size-fits-all approach, inflicting the same punishment on that woman and the hardcore abusers who cause the vast majority of alcohol-related fatalities. It eliminates a judge’s ability to treat different offenders differently, and America’s criminal-justice system has a terrible record with mandatory minimum sentences.

Most state legislatures have already made it clear that they favor judicial discretion, rejecting mandates for low-blood-alcohol, first-time offenders, or passing ignition-interlock bills that target high-blood-alcohol, repeat offenders. Their decisions are supported by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics showing that most alcohol-related fatalities involve offenders at more than twice the legal limit.

But, under pressure from MADD, the House is poised to force those legislatures to change their laws. To those who recall the debate over lowering the legal limit from 0.10 to 0.08 percent, it’s a familiar scenario.

In 1998, Congress approved highway-funding sanctions for states that would not lower their limits after MADD insisted that doing so would save thousands of lives. It didn’t: In 2007, the number of alcohol-related fatalities was roughly the same as 10 years earlier.

In 2006, MADD projected that ignition-interlock technology – set to prevent driving at blood-alcohol levels as low as 0.02 percent – could be “standard equipment” for all American vehicles within 10 years. Three years later, we are already on the verge of requiring the devices even for marginal offenders.

If MADD’s latest push goes forward unabated, it won’t be long until your car is forbidding you from driving home after a champagne toast at a wedding or a beer at a baseball game.

Few issues are more loaded or emotionally charged than drinking and driving. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the year 2005 saw 16,885 deaths as the result of alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, with countless others that resulted in injuries, emotional trauma and jail time. A 2001 study by two economics professors, Stephen Levitt of the University of Chicago and Jack Porter of Harvard University, reported that “drunk drivers are at least 13 times more likely to cause a fatal car crash than sober drivers.” That may not come as much of a surprise, but this might: Drivers who had been drinking (but were not legally drunk) were seven times likelier than sober drivers to cause a fatal accident. There’s no denying the widespread misconception that driving after you’ve had “just a couple” is fine. Researchers have increasing proof that this isn’t the case, not by a long shot. Even if one’s blood alcohol level isn’t at or above the legal limit, the fact remains that drinking and driving is a selfish, dangerous gamble.

Why People Drink and Drive
Alcohol is a psychoactive substance, albeit a socially acceptable one. As a society, we drink for many reasons: to celebrate, to relax and to comfort ourselves during difficult times. It’s no surprise that we often refer to alcohol as a “social lubricant” – alcohol lowers inhibitions, often causing talkativeness and a general feeling of well-being that’s both physical and emotional. Happy hours, martini lunches, BYOB house parties, and cocktail receptions are integral parts of how we socialize. Because drinking is pleasurable and acceptable, it’s easy to forget that it impairs judgment. It’s even harder to bring this to mind after we’ve had a few and it’s time to drive home.

The aforementioned study revealed that between the hours of 1-3 a.m., an average of 25% of drivers on the road have been drinking. These numbers don’t lie: Plenty of people think it is fine to close the bar down and drive home. During these hours, approximately 60% of fatal car crashes are caused by drunk drivers. Another frightening statistic from that same study reports that “alcohol is a factor in 30% of fatal crashes, which cause 40,000 deaths each year and are the leading cause of death for Americans aged 6-27.”

The Very Real Consequences of Drinking and Driving
One of the most sobering and public examples of what can happen as a result of drinking and driving is the inspiring story of Jacqui Saburido. In September of 1999, at the age of 20, Jacqui and four friends were driving home from a party when their vehicle was struck by a drunk driver, 18-year-old Reggie Stephey. Two of Jacqui’s friends were instantly killed, and Jacqui survived against all odds. Over 60% of her body was burned as she was trapped in the flaming car; she lost all her hair, her nose, one of her eyelids, most of her vision, and some of the fingers on both hands. Jacqui has had over 50 reconstructive surgeries, but she still has a long way to go.

Reggie Stephey was sentenced to seven years in prison and a $20,000 fine following his 2001 conviction for intoxication manslaughter. In the blink of an eye, a drinking and driving accident took the life of Jacqui’s friends and as her site HelpJacqui.org says, “left her dependent, permanently disfigured and in constant pain.” Reggie Stephey has since spoken out against drinking and driving, urging the public to heed his warning: A moment’s bad decision can have consequences that are all too tragic and permanent.

Alcoholism Facts
Any discussion about the dangers of drinking and driving is incomplete without looking at the role of alcoholism. Alcoholism is a disease, and a very real and devastating one at that. Some estimates place the occurrence of this disease at 10% of the population or more. This may sound like an inflated estimate, in large part due to the public misconception that full-blown alcoholism involves living under a bridge and drinking nonstop out of a bottle inside a paper bag.

In reality, alcoholism occurs when a person has lost the power of choice when it comes to drinking. It progresses at different rates in different people, but alcoholism is always progressive. It can be arrested with treatment, but not cured. If, once you start drinking, you find you cannot stop or control the amount you drink, you may have a problem with alcohol.

One frightening symptom of alcoholism is the blackout, a dangerous situation in which the drinker experiences a sort of alcohol-induced functional unconsciousness. Many sober alcoholics have reported countless incidents of driving while in blackouts; they know that it happened because they made it home in their own vehicles, but they have absolutely no memory of driving, or of deciding to do so.

If you think you may have a problem with alcohol, there’s no shame in seeking help and information. Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive and fatal disease. AA.org is a good place to start looking for information about alcoholism and the 12-step method of addiction recovery. Treatment centers, counselors and addiction hotlines can also point you in the right direction if alcohol has caused you unwanted consequences. There is an abundance of information and support available for alcohol and drug addiction on the Internet and in virtually every local community.

In 2006, M.A.D.D. (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) reported that 17,602 people died in drunk-driving accidents, which averaged out to about one person every half hour. The countless deaths, injuries and legal problems caused by drinking and driving are needless. While it may seem inconvenient to call a taxi if you’ve been out drinking and need to get home, the risk of driving under the influence of alcohol is, quite simply, not worth it.

An estimated three out of 10 American adults will be involved in an alcohol-related car crash at some point in their lives. Don’t be the cause of one of these tragedies: Call a cab or designate a driver.

Do You Drink Too Much?
The one or two glasses of wine you drink at the occasional meal when you dine out are no big deal, but what about the standard two glasses of wine you have with every dinner? Could this love of Chardonnay mean that you drink too much? Many people wonder the same thing – whether or not their drinking habits are over the top. To find out if your drinking habits are out of control, answer these questions honestly in this drinking quiz.

Written By: Liz Davis for LifeScript.com on Nov 1,2007