I've been contemplating writing a diary about our drinking culture in the United States for some time now, just not knowing what specifically I wanted to address. What is most important to me? What would other members deem worth debate? What about our drinking culture, history, laws and flaws do we need to address?
As a substance abuse counselor working mostly with DUI offenders, a subject has come up on many occasion in group and in my individuals appointments with clients: Police Check Points.
Still there? Follow me to the juicey parts.....
The statistics for drunk driving deaths with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 or over for 1982 in Illinois--where I reside--was 53%. In 2005, it decreased to 35%. This is a good thing! Why the decrease? What changed?
Sobriety Check Points
First of all, what is a sobriety check point?
Sobriety checkpoint: law enforcement evaluates drivers for signs of alcohol or drug impairment at certain points on the roadway. Vehicles are stopped in a specific sequence, such as every other vehicle or every fourth, fifth or sixth vehicle. Sobriety checkpoints must display warning signs to motorists. Police must have a reason to believe the driver stopped at a checkpoint has been drinking before a breath test can be conducted.
info supplied by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers
The CDC (Center For Disease Control) has resources claiming a decrease of 22% of fatal crashes due to the use of sobriety check points.
This issue is huge for individuals who have lost loved ones to a drunk drivers. The emotional toll it takes on a family is gut-wrenching.
My cousin died in a single motorcycle accident in 1987. He was 25 years old and he was very drunk.
Luckily, he did not kill anyone else, but watching my aunt and uncle decide which organs to donate is not something I will soon forget.
Even having experienced this, I, as a progressive have a difficult time reconciling check points and my individual rights when there is another tool available--Saturation Patrol. This is defined by law enforcement watching and observing for moving violations, aggressive driving, and the such--you know, what the police are suppose to do anyway.
I understand that some of my clients are bent on focusing their lot in treatment to be an outside evil, like the police and court system, but it is hard for me to come to terms with this procedure.
Alcohol causes distorted thinking; distortions in judgement, perception, emotional control, alertness, concentration, coodination and good reaction time. AND because of this distorted thinking, people many times believe they are "just fine" to drive, when in fact, they are very impaired. Think of how many times as individuals we have driven drunk, but just didn't get stopped?
How many times did you thank God when you pulled into the driveway?
As progressives, how do we reconcile this? Let's debate.
Keep in mind: I do understand this can be a very emotional subject for some and the majority of people in America polled want these checkpoints. So, breathe before you type. Debate please; don't attack.