LAKEPORT — Driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs was listed as the greatest highway safety problem, followed by driving under the influence of illegal drugs.
These statistics come courtesy of a survey conducted by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
In Lake County, where the DUI rate is nearly double the state rate, a new program funded by a special grant will help tackle this issue head-on.
According to the California Criminal Justice Statistics Center there were 182,414 DUI arrests made in California in 2005. That averaged out to 499 arrests made a day, almost 21 arrests per hour and about one arrest made every three minutes. Fatalities totaled 1,574 during this time period. This equals one fatality every five hours and 31 minutes. Lake County had 477 arrests nearly double the state rate.
According to the Lake County District Attorney”s Office, these staggering statistics showed that Lake County needed its own special unit. A unique grant that could make this unit a reality was brought to the DA”s attention by David McKillop, whose work prosecuting in a different county gave him knowledge of the grant.
An application for the grant was then submitted to the California Office of Traffic Safety (COTS).
The application was approved and on Oct. 1, 2006 the Lake County Vertical Prosecution/DUI Outreach Program was launched. The four-man unit consists of district Attorney Jon Hopkins, administrator Sam Laird, prosecutor David McKillop and lead investigator Tom Clements. The unit is run out of the DA”s office.
“The goal is to reduce the number of drunk drivers on our streets,” said Hopkins. “People need to feel and be safe when driving.”
According to the COTS, the primary goal of this program is to provide prosecution, education, reduce alcohol-involved collisions and reduce student drinking and driving. This program will also collaborate with the countywide “Avoid Program” and the Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) to conduct education and enforcement during high-risk periods. Also multiple activities will be conducted including sweeps, checkpoints, on-site education for schools and training for bars.
“All DUI-related cases will be vertically prosecuted; all victims will be served by one advocate,” said Laird. “Basically, we will handle the case from start to finish.”
“This will allow us more resources to investigate these cases,” said Tom Clements, lead investigator. “Fatalities and great bodily injuries will take precedence.”
The grant will run through Sept. 30, 2008 and can be re-applied for by the county.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving Web site www.madd.org
Contact Rene Morales at rmorales@record-bee.com.
