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Is there a solution?

By: dmc-admin//August 4, 2008//

Is there a solution?

By: dmc-admin//August 4, 2008//

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Fourteen years ago, I received the unimaginable phone call in the middle of the night. A voice I did not recognize was telling me that my family had been in an accident with a drunken driver.

He said my 37-year-old brother was dead and that my father, 57, was not expected to make it. He assured me that my mother, though injured, would be all right. Then he urged me to get into my car and drive to Iowa City, so that I could see my father before he died.

Immediately, I contacted my remaining brother and felt my heart break as his response gave voice to the feelings I was trying to keep in check.

Moving as quickly as we could in the surreal fog created by the 3:30 a.m. call and the tragic news, my wife and I met my brother and his wife. We drove to the hospital in Iowa as fast as we felt was prudent.

But we were too late.

I never had the opportunity to say good-bye to my father nor my eldest brother.

Unfortunately, it’s a tragedy that is not unique to my family. In 2006, 364 people died in alcohol-related accidents in Wisconsin, according to Mothers Against Drunken Driving. Of that total, 313 people were killed in accidents where the driver had a blood-alcohol level of .08 or greater.

The man who killed my brother and father had a BAC of .17. He was so intoxicated that he drove for about one mile in the wrong direction on Interstate 80. He had already forced several vehicles off the highway without realizing his mistake. Chances are he would have continued, had he not struck my parents’ van.

Friday, a 51-year-old Elm Grove man was killed in an accident with a 42-year-old Pewaukee man who had six prior arrests for drunken driving. According to reports, his wife and sister-in-law were both injured in the accident. Details of exactly what happened are still unclear at this point; police have indicated that alcohol may have been a factor for both drivers.

Sadly, they have joined a sad fraternity of those whose lives have been tragically affected by an alcohol-related accident.

Also sad is the fact that on a regular basis we see news stories about drunken drivers involved in accidents following four, six and even 10 prior DUI offenses.

I understand that everyone makes bad decisions now and then, but it is obvious that, as they say, “drinking and driving don’t mix.” It’s also clear that many individuals are unable to resolve the problem on their own.

We need to come up with an effective way of ensuring that repeat offenders will not get behind the wheel after they have consumed alcohol. We need to develop a successful combination of treatment, deterrence and restrictions, particularly when it comes to individuals who have had multiple DUI violations.

Clearly, we are not there yet.

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