State gets tougher on DWI offenders

People driving while intoxicated in the state is such a problem, Louisiana Highway Safety Commission Executive Director James Champagne described it as being part of the area’s culture.

“It’s part of the culture we find facing us in south Louisiana,” said Champagne. “That’s unfortunately the God-given belief that it’s our right to drink and drive.”

Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes are ranked among the highest for alcohol-related accidents, injuries and fatalities in the state.

In 2006, Lafourche Parish saw 14 alcohol-related fatal crashes that caused 15 fatalities. It also saw 202 alcohol-related crash injuries.

Meanwhile, Terrebonne Parish saw 12 alcohol-related fatal crashes that caused 12 fatalities last year, and 239 alcohol-related crash injuries.

Louisiana State Police Troop C reported citing people 785 times from January to present and 79 times since the beginning of August.

The state legislature toughened up the DWI laws last session, modeling the new laws after a program in New Mexico.

“Anything that can curtail or curb impaired drivers, not only in Lafourche Parish, but statewide, I’m in favor of that,” said Lafourche Parish District Attorney Camille “Cam” Morvant.

Under the new law, drivers convicted of a first-offense DWI will have their license suspended for an entire year, instead of just 90 days.

And the law requires drivers with suspended licenses to install ignition interlock devices in their vehicles if they are granted a “hardship license.”

The ignition interlock devices prevent drivers that have alcohol in their system, at a level set by the court, from starting up their vehicle.

“It’s (installing interlock devices) going to make a tremendous difference. It really is,” said Champagne. “That person that has been convicted is now going to have the alcohol interlock device on their vehicle and that’s a tremendous move forward for the state of Louisiana.”

Lawmakers in New Mexico enacted a similar law requiring the use of the device in 2003. It was the first state to enact such a law.

The state’s alcohol-related fatality rate fell from 225 in 2002 to 191 in 2006, which is about a 15 percent decrease or 34 fewer deaths.

But knowing New Mexico’s population is just 2 million, less than half the population of Louisiana, that 15 percent could very well translate into saving 50 to 75 lives a year.

“It just really upsets me when I see a fatality in Lafourche Parish as the result of an impaired driver, because I know the devastation it has on the families of the victim. I know it firsthand. I see it,” said Morvant.

But the data needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The decline in alcohol-related fatalities in New Mexico is anecdotal. Other causes could have contributed to the decline in fatalities beyond the use of the interlock devices.

The devices can also require repeated breaths to keep a vehicle going at predetermined intervals.

This potentially keeps an intoxicated driver from using a passenger, like a child, to start the vehicle and keep it running.

The installation and maintenance fees for the interlock devices can reach $1,000 a year and the offender is responsible for paying for it.

Another provision of the law doubles the term of a license suspension for second and third-time offenders from one year to two years and two years to three years.

With Labor Day and high school football jamborees right around the corner, law enforcement is preparing to wage a war against drunk driving.

For Labor Day, 200 law enforcement agencies will be mobilized statewide to set up DWI checkpoints and to patrol for drunk drivers.

This past weekend, the Terrebonne Parish District Attorney’s Office, the Louisiana

State Police, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Houma Police Department joined forces at the South Terrebonne High School football jamboree to kick off their anti-DWI campaign, “Don’t Be a Zero.”

“I recognize the serious problem with drinking and driving not only in Terrebonne Parish, but across the state. This office is committed to leading the charge against drinking and driving and intends to devote all of our efforts and resources in eliminating the problem,” said Terrebonne Parish District Attorney Joseph L. Waitz Jr.

As part of the campaign, law enforcement officers will be sweeping bars to check for underage drinking and to monitor the amount of alcohol being served to patrons.

DWI checkpoints will also be increased.

For Labor Day, 200 law enforcement agencies will mobilize statewide to set up DWI checkpoints. * File photo.