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Wisconsin leads the nation in the number of people who admit to drunken driving, according to a new study. Twenty-six percent of those surveyed, or 2,696 Wisconsin adults, told researchers they had driven under the influence. This is 70 percent above the national average of
15 percent who admit to driving under the influence.
Half of all traffic-related deaths in Wisconsin are linked to alcohol. Wisconsin ranks 4th in the percent of alcohol related traffic fatalities according to recent statistics compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
And the statistics hide the real families and lives that are affected.
A tragic accident in Waukesha County recently took the life of a school administrator, her 10-year old daughter and her unborn baby. The victims were hit by a drunken driver who had just been convicted of his third drunken-driving offense.
The tragedy spurred the governor and several legislators to call for new drunken driving penalties, including a mandatory felony for a third offense. This means time in prison.
According to Circuit Court Judge Lee Dreyfus Jr., currently most third-time offenders in his court spend 125 days in the county jail. But making the penalty a felony would require time in prison, not the county jail.
Dreyfus, who was quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, said the best way to curb drunken drivers is to get them involved in effective treatment. He suggested perhaps we should dedicate a prison to drunk drivers and have them get treatment there.
Brad Schimel, the Waukesha County District Attorney, told a Journal Sentinel reporter that he doesn’t disagree with making the third offense a felony but warns of the costs.
In 2001, (the most recent figures I could find) we had 16,708 people with third time OWI convictions. The cost of keeping just these folks locked up in our state prisons is more than $415 million. That’s a lot of cash when budgets are tight.
And even locked up, they may not receive the treatment the judges ordered.
Several months ago, I visited the state women’s prison, Taycheedah, and learned that just because a judge orders treatment does not mean the inmate leaves prison having completed that treatment. There are nearly 800 women incarcerated at Taycheedah. Workers told me about
70 percent of them have alcohol or drug problems and almost 200 have court ordered treatment. The treatment program has slots for only 36 inmates.
Next week I will join the Eau Claire Coalition for Youth Health and Safety to learn about effective programs for dealing with alcohol and substance abuse among youth. People are looking to an effective program in Washington County, Minn., for answers on what works.
We have a long way to go to solve this problem. But we must begin to understand what works. In tight budget times we need to know how to wisely spend our dollars. This means working together to find the best and most cost-effective answers.
State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, Wis., represents the 31st District.
