THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 15, 1995 TAG: 9507150342
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
After almost two decades in law enforcement, Jim Gradeless knows all too well the tragedy drunken driving can leave in its wake.
``I lost my grandfather, and I've lost a son in accidents related to drunk driving,'' the Kill Devil Hills police chief said Friday. ``We also lost an officer who was directing traffic after a drunk-driving incident.
``But it's not just the family members, loved ones and friends who are hurt by drunk driving. Everybody's a victim.''
And Gradeless is involved with a drive to cut down on drunken driving.
The Governor's Highway Safety Program is teaming with local officers to in a program called ``Booze It and Lose It.''
The campaign has provided funding for additional patrol officers to monitor coastal roadways.
The Dare County towns of Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head are among 15 coastal communities that have received money for the initiative.
The increased presence of law enforcement officers has led to an increase in the number of drunk driving arrests. Last year, during the program's inaugural effort, state public safety officials reported an additional 650 DWI arrests from Sunset Beach to Corolla.
``We will be out in force to make sure our roads are safe for vacationers and coastal residents,'' said Joe Parker, director of the Governor's Highway Safety Program. ``We want families and visitors who come to North Carolina beaches this summer not to worry about drunk drivers on the roads. We want to keep our visitors alive and well so they will come back and see us often.''
Gradeless said that while there has been a proportionate increase in alcohol-related arrests since the beginning of the summer, the overall number of DWI arrests has declined because of the increased police presence.
``It's our feeling that people are becoming more responsible,'' said Gradeless.
Statistics released by the Highway Safety Research Center at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill back Gradeless' claim. The number of fatal alcohol-related crashes declined across the state from 422 in 1993 to 398 in 1994. The number of fatalities also declined from 469 in 1993 to 457 in 1994.
Under North Carolina law, a motorist is presumed to be intoxicated if the blood alcohol content is .08 or higher. However, Major Mike Harris of the Kill Devil Hills Police Department said even drivers with a lower alcohol content in their bloodstream could be considered a menace on the highway.
``If you blow .08 or more, you are presumed to be impaired,'' Harris said. ``It doesn't matter if you blow .01, 02 or .04, if it appears that you are impaired, you are in violation.''
Prior to the ``Booze It and Lose It'' initiative, about 2 percent of all drivers passing through police checkpoints were found to have a blood alcohol content at or above the legal limit. More than 3,800 arrests have been made since ``Booze It and Lose It'' began.
Gradeless said drunken driving affects every level of society.
``Along with the grieving families and friends that are left behind, drunk driving means higher insurance rates for all of us. Police, fire and EMS workers who deal with these incidents have to deal with those ghosts. It's hard to have to tell a wife, or mother and father that their husband or child is not coming home. This hurts all of us.'' ILLUSTRATION: Jim Gradeless, Kill Devil Hills police chief
THE COST OF DRUNKEN DRIVING
A total of 457 alcohol-related traffic fatalities in North
Carolina in 1994. An additional 10,727 were injured.
Drunken drivers cost North Carolina taxpayers nearly $1 billion
in health care, insurance and other related costs annually. That
breaks down to $214 for each licensed driver in the state.
A DWI offender pays at least $6,000 in legal fees, court costs
and fines related to the offense.
Insurance premiums for offenders jump a minimum of 400 percent.
SOURCE: The North Carolina Department of Transportation and the
University of North Carolina Highway Safety research Center.
KEYWORDS: DUI DRUNKEN DRIVING by CNB