DWI in MN: 1 in 7 Drivers

The holidays are a notoriously grim time on America's roads. Too many people drink too much and then drive without giving proper thought to the logistics of getting home safely.

Law enforcement agencies and safety advocates such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving try their best to respond to the challenge. Here in Minnesota, MADD is teaming up with the Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety and the State Patrol as part of a national effort called Tie One on for Safety. Members of the public are encouraged to tie red ribbons to their vehicles to signify a commitment to safe, sober, buckled-up driving.

The statistics cited in the Star Tribune news item announcing the annual campaign speak of a culture with a drinking problem. In Minnesota alone, there were 3,931 alcohol-related crashes last year. These crashes killed 141 people and injured 2,592.

Of course, the problem isn't only alcohol; it also includes other drugs. The I in DWI stands, after all, for impaired, and drivers can be impaired by drugs as well as alcohol. Sometimes, sadly, they are impaired by both.

It's pretty scary to consider how many impaired drivers are out on the roads - not just at the holidays, but throughout the year. One in seven Minnesota drivers has a DWI conviction.

1 in 7!

Thrown Another Curve By His Own Demons

Dwight Gooden, once a marvelously talented pitcher, has struggled for years with drug addiction. In the last few years, however, he seemed to have gotten his life on track. After working as an executive for the Newark Bears, a minor league team, he was hoping to land a job as a coach for the New York Mets, the team with which he rose to stardom in the mid-1980s. The Mets had invited him to spring training as an adviser.

Then the former pitcher threw it all away - again. With his five-year-old son in the car, he rear-ended another vehicle and was arrested. New Jersey authorities charged him with driving under the influence of drugs, child endangerment, DWI with a child passenger, and leaving the scene of an accident.

Gooden, 45, has tried drug rehab at least five times, has a half-dozen previous arrests, and served seven months in jail in Florida in 2006. Now comes this incident, in which he put his own son at risk. New Jersey police are not saying which drug they suspect Gooden of using, but he has a history of cocaine abuse.

How will this play out, I wonder, as the years unfold, in Gooden's relationship with his son?

Oneself as Another, Framed Through a Mug Shot

The young basketball star said all the right things, the day after his drunken driving arrest.

Timberwolves' power forward Al Jefferson, known an Big Al, was booked into jail in the early morning hours of March 1 on a charge of fourth-degree driving while impaired. He had made the choice to drink and then drive, only to be stopped by an officer of the state patrol on I-394 just outside downtown Minneapolis. A breath test administered at the scene showed his blood-alcohol content to be over the legal limit of .08.

Jefferson was out on bail within an hour, but his mug shot soon appeared on TV. The T-Wolves responded quickly by suspending Jefferson for two games, costing him $293,000 in lost salary.

The next day, Jefferson seemed genuinely remorseful. He apologized to his teammates, team management, fans, and his family (particularly the grandmother who raised him) for making a "stupid choice." He'd seriously considered calling someone to drive him home to Golden Valley, but then got in his car anyway.

In a lengthy interview with the Star Tribune, Jefferson acknowledged that the death of Timberwolves' player Malik Sealy at the hands of a drunk driver in May 2000 makes Jefferson's decision to drink and drive all the more disappointing.

"That's what really makes me feel bad. He was an innocent guy going home and a drunk driver hit him. I couldn't live with myself if that would have happened, if I would have done something to someone like that."

So Big Al seems to get it. Driving while impaired, he could have ended up like the man who killed Sealy. A mug shot is not a pretty picture, but at least Al Jefferson is seeing clearly through its frame.

Reducing Drunken Driving Deaths: Still Miles to Go

States that target drunken driving for tough law enforcement have seen significant decreases in fatal, alcohol-related crashes. Federal data released earlier this month showed fatality rates down in 40 states and the District of Columbia. According to the Department of Transportation, the number of people killed by drunken driving declined from 13,041 in 2007 to 11,773 in 2008.

This was a 7 percent decrease in one year, and a 44 percent drop since 21,1113 people were killed in 1982. The figures have been trending downward since then, in no small part because Mothers Against Drunk Driving did so much to focus public attention − and exert political pressure − on the issue.

But nearly 12,000 deaths is still far too many. As Doug Berman has pointed out, society's response to drunken driving remains flawed on many levels. He argues, for example, that greater use should be made of ignition-interlock devices, which would require drivers to blow into a tube that checks blood alcohol content before starting the vehicle.