Police Corner
Facts dispel some drunk driving beliefs

By Officer Joanna Robertson
PIO, Bethany Beach Police Dept.

Remember when you were young and really did not pay attention to the consequences of your actions? Everybody went through that period, and if they didn’t, I want to ask them, “Who were your parents and where can I find them?”

I am not pointing fingers at whoever raised you, that they might have done a bad job. I am sure they did the best they could. Well, my point is that now that you are 40, 50 or even 60 — it is time to be smarter. I am talking about drinking and driving.

Here are some statistics. There were 18 people arrested for drinking and driving this year and brought to the Bethany Beach Police station to conduct the chemical test. Nine of those people were between the ages of 50 and 60, five of them between the ages of 30 and 40 and finally, four people were at the age of 23 to 24. Ninety percent of people arrested for impaired driving were locals from Bethany Beach, Ocean View, Frankford and Dagsboro. The remaining 10 percent were from out of state.

Those statistics will not reflect the general picture of certain group ages in this country and how the alcohol affects their driving. Those statistics will change during the summer or even spring (heavy traffic, college kids going on spring break). Those statistics would be different if this area was not occupied by the elderly population. Finally, the numbers of drunk drivers would be higher if the nightlife in the area was booming (just like Dewey Beach in the summertime).

My point is to inform you that the problem of drunk drivers relates to every age group. Throughout my short law enforcement career I can easily say that 80 percent of people that I arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol were over 40 years old. This is because I work in a town where the majority of the population is over 40. However, I want to stress the fact that the older you are, the smarter you should become. You are supposed to be the one who sets the example, right?

Police officers encounter different kinds of people, especially while on possible DUI stops.

Let me tell you a little story. I was on patrol during one of the seasonal months when I came in contact with a driver who I suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. As soon as I approached his vehicle, I noticed that he had red, watery eyes and slurred his words. I smelled the alcohol on his breath and saw a couple of empty beer cans on the passenger seat. I performed some sobriety tests on him, all of which he failed. At all times he was cooperative and followed directions. He was arrested for DUI and when I was talking to him at the station, he admitted that he was in the wrong. He was ready to face the consequences of having his license suspended and paying the fines if found guilty. He knew he was caught and now it was time to pay for it.

Now, the story does not always look so peachy. There are types of people that would not agree with the police. First of all, according to them, we have no right to stop them (even when they drive against the traffic or with their lights off at 2 a.m.). Secondly, they will do us “a favor” by allowing us to conduct field sobriety tests.

This is the perfect time for them to call us names, say how important they are for the community, tell us that their uncle, brother, niece works for the X police department, etc. The worst comes when they tell us that we should be looking for “real criminals” and stop picking on them. They claim that we work for them; they pay taxes so we can have a job, and, by the way, we should stay more visible and not just write speeding tickets.

In the meantime, they are the ones violating the respect for another human life. I am not talking about making a cop mad, after a while we are used to it and this is a part of our job. I am talking about other people on the road and you putting them at risk of losing their life. I am talking about the fact that when you drink and drive you are three times more likely to be involved in a crash than a sober driver. I am talking about the children of Cpl. Chris Shea of the Delaware State Police, who was killed by a drunk driver and whose death impacted my life in so many ways (I knew him). I am talking about you thinking first, before you get behind the wheel after you have been drinking.

Please, be aware that despite your age you can be somebody’s hero, a person they want to follow and do what he/she does. Don’t let your stupidity play a role in their life.

I want to finish with some encouraging facts. The data released today by the Transportation Department shows that we are making progress towards protecting Americans from drunk drivers. Last year, the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes dropped to an all-time low, representing a decline of over a third since 1982. For the first time since 1975, when the statistics were collected for the first time, drunken driving deaths accounted for less than 40 percent of all traffic deaths.

I want to let you all be aware of stepped-up enforcement efforts. So drivers, think twice about driving while impaired.