Thursday, November 6, 2008
The bars are closing. It’s 2 a.m. Ryan has been drinking for nearly six hours. On an average night, he consumes anywhere from five to 10 drinks, usually a combination of shots and beer. He and his friends stumble out onto the sidewalk in downtown Lawrence.
And then Ryan drives home.
“I don’t usually get wasted,” Ryan said. “So when I leave, I’m still feeling fine.”
Ryan, a Kansas City, Kan., senior who said he didn’t want his last name included, doesn’t get pulled over this time. In fact, he has never been pulled over despite drinking and driving more times than he said he could remember during the past two years.
breakbox
$500 - minimum fine for a DUI
$1,000 - maximum fine for first-time DUI
48 - hours spent in jail for a DUI
100 - hours of community service to avoid jail-time
Source: Michele Kessler, attorney and associate director of Legal Services for Students
Ryan is lucky.
The most recent statistics available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said about 1.46 million people in the United States were arrested for driving under the influence in 2006. In Lawrence, DUI arrests have dropped 30 percent since 2003, according to the Lawrence Police Department’s crime statistics.
Eighteen percent of KU students said they had driven after consuming at least five alcoholic beverages, according to the 2006 National College Health Assessment.
The Lawrence Police Department, which has jurisdiction over Massachusetts Street and the surrounding area, issued 219 DUI tickets in the first six months of this year. The department has issued an average of almost 42 DUIs each month for the last three years.
The penalties for being caught driving under the influence of alcohol can be severe. Michele Kessler, attorney and associate director of Legal Services for Students, said there were two different sides to the legal implications of a DUI. One part of the process involves state laws and a suspension of a driver’s license. The other involves those of the city or county where the offense occurred.
Kessler said some chose to fight DUI tickets. A request for a hearing has to be filed within 10 days of the ticket, or the case can’t be heard in court. She said the process entailed two separate cases, which addressed the licence suspension and fine attached to the infraction. The city charges first-time offenders between $500 and $1,000.
Jenny McKee, health educator for Student Health Services, said the fine was put into perspective by how much students spent on alcohol. McKee said the University’s online e-CHUG program, which monitors students’ drinking habits, reported the average amount an average student spent on alcohol during a year was $999.04.
Kessler said a DUI charge can hinder a student’s future endeavors. In addition to monetary consequences, Kessler said, the criminal offense could damage one’s reputation and affect a person’s ability to get a job.
“We’ve had incidents where students get in the car, put the key in and pass out,” Kessler said. “You’re operating even though you didn’t get on the street.”
Kessler said police officers needed a probable cause to pull someone over if they suspected that person of driving under the influence.
Sgt. Bill Cory of the Lawrence Police Department said police looked for drivers who commit basic traffic infractions, such as swerving, having burnt-out headlights or failing to stop completely at stop signs.
Kim Murphree, records manager for Lawrence Police Department, said the decrease in DUIs could be attributed to the police actively enforcing drinking and driving laws. She said the department also encouraged citizens to report suspicious driving.
— - Edited by Becka Cremer
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