DUI: One Of The Leading Causes Of All Statistics

Our Chicago DUI Lawyers found this latest DUI article in the LA Times that reminded us of the old Lisa Minnelli quote: “smoking is one of the leading causes of all statistics”.

Huntington Beach police may identify suspected drunk drivers on its website

July 30, 2010|By Britney Barnes, Los Angeles Times

The Huntington Beach Police Department is considering posting the names of drunk-driving suspects on its website as part of a stepped-up strategy to address the problem downtown and citywide.

In a report submitted to the City Council this month, police said drinking and driving is a “significant problem” in Surf City and suggested that publicly posting names sends a message that police are cracking down.

A police official says publicly posting names would not be ‘a wall of shame’ but send a message that officers are cracking down on a ‘significant problem’ in Surf City.

Oh, of course it isn’t a wall of shame. Why would anyone think that? But what exactly is the “problem” that they are so concerned about cracking down on?

For the last three years, on average, Huntington Beach police have made 1,700 drunk driving arrests a year — the third-highest for cities in California with similar populations in 2008, according to the report.

Wow. That sure is an abnormally high amount of arrests. Are there any stats to justify those high arrest totals?

The city also has the fourth-highest number of alcohol-related traffic collisions for its population.

Ah, yes - “alcohol related traffic collisions” What does that mean?

Well The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the U.S. defines a non-fatal traffic collision as alcohol-related if either a driver, a passenger, or a pedestrian had a measurable or estimated BAC of 0.01 g/dl or above. This statistic is reported only by police reports which may be based on police suspicion due to a variety of cues or circumstances. Further these reports do not collect data in a uniform manner throughout the USA.¹

In other words, each police department is free to define what creates a “alcohol-related traffic collision.”

So two sober drivers get into an accident while one is exiting the parking lot of a restaurant that serves alcohol. How is that classified? How about the sober driver who taps the bumper of a car in front of him while driving a passenger who is “suspected” of having 1 beer? Neither scenario involves “drunk driving” – but both will be reported as a “alcohol related traffic collisions”.

So that becomes the effective statistical prop to justify this behavior:

Reinhart said officers are trying to focus on being proactive instead of reactive when it comes to drinking and driving.

Great. It will be just the movie “Minority Report” in which the “Precrime” unit used 3 physics to predict murders before they happen. No word in the article as to how much money all those DUI arrests have generated the Police Department and the City – or if they employ any physics.

¹http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/research/alcoholcountries/background_&_intro.htm