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Residents of Wisconsin can’t be too proud of the statistics these days. Wisconsin has the highest rate of drunken driving in the nation, according to the Department of Transportation. Alcohol killed 337 people and injured 5,500 in car accidents in the state last year. More than 42,000 drivers were convicted of drunken driving in Wisconsin in 2007, and that’s just the number of people that were actually caught and convicted. Wisconsin had a rash of hit and run accidents this past summer, many of them fatal, and many of the fleeing drivers were suspected of being drunk.
Lenient Laws
What is the cause of the high number of drunk drivers in some states, and what can be done about it? Many would argue that the laws for drunk driving in states like Wisconsin are very lenient. In fact, Wisconsin does not consider drunk driving as more than a misdemeanor until multiple offenses have occurred. Only after the 4th offense, or if someone was injured or killed, is drunk driving considered a felony. Countless attorneys in the area specialize in DUI cases, which may contribute to even repeat offenders getting off with little jail time.
Possible Solution:
Ignition Interlock System
Other states have taken steps, sometimes controversial ones, to prevent drunk driving, especially among repeat offenders. The ignition interlock system is one disputed measure that some states are working to enforce. This device would be installed in a repeat offender’s car and would not allow the vehicle operator to start the vehicle until they blow a blood alcohol level below a certain level.
Safe Ride
Another option is for states to offer incentives to local tavern leagues that provide a SafeRide program. Often, states will give grants for volunteer drivers or taxis to take people home safely from the bars. But this solution can become useless when there is lack of interest or coordination.
Sobriety Checkpoints
Sobriety checkpoints, where police set up random roadblocks to check drivers, are banned in Wisconsin and 11 other states. The argument is that the checkpoints infringe on people’s rights, and they won’t necessarily catch the drunk drivers that know to avoid the blocked road.
Monitoring Bracelet
The newest solution some are proposing in Wisconsin for repeat offenders is the alcohol monitoring bracelet, which would take readings of blood alcohol levels from the sweat on a person’s skin. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), these bracelets won’t prevent people from driving drunk; they simply can tell authorities that someone has been drinking.
Although there is criticism for these prevention or monitoring methods and none of them seems to be a fix-all, it would seem that something needs to be done in states like Wisconsin that struggle with this problem. Possibly the answer is a combining of these solutions in order to catch or prevent as many people as possible from driving drunk.
Sources
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/motorist/drunkdriving/index.htm
Dashek, Ryan Lawmakers must tighten drunk driving penalties December 1, 2008
Damos, Tim Drunk driving a county problem December 18, 2008
Dlabay, Kyle Lawmaker Proposes Statewide Alcohol Monitoring Bracelets December 15, 2008
