DUI is a serious problem

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DUI Initiative Alcohol Policy Project
Amanda R. Grohosky Kathleen A. Moore,
Ph.D. Department of Mental Health Law and
PolicyLouis de la Parte Florida Mental Health
InstituteUniversity of South Florida July 31,
2006
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Tragic Effects of Drinking and Driving
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Early on Sunday morning September 19, 1999,
Jacqui - then 20 years old - and four friends
were on their way home from a birthday party.
Reggie Stephey, an 18-year-old high school
student, was on his way home from drinking beer
with some buddies. On a dark road on the
outskirts of Austin, Texas, Reggie's SUV veered
into the Oldsmobile carrying Jacqui and the
others. Two passengers in the car were killed at
the scene and two were rescued. Within minutes,
the car caught fire. Jacqui was pinned in the
front seat on the passenger side. She was burned
over 60 of her body no one thought she could
survive. But Jacqui lived. Her hands were so
badly burned that all of her fingers had to be
amputated. She lost her hair, her ears, her nose,
her left eyelid and much of her vision. She has
had more than 50 operations since the crash and
has many more to go. In June 2001 Reggie
Stephey was convicted of two counts of
intoxication manslaughter for the deaths of
Jacqui's two friends. He was sentenced to seven
years in prison and fined 20,000.
http//www.helpjacqui.com/home.htm
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Costs Associated with DUI in Florida

• Alcohol accounts for
  25 of crash costs in
• Florida
• The average alcohol-related fatality
• in Florida costs 3.4 million
• Alcohol-related crashes accounted for about
• 17 of Floridas auto insurance payments
• Note. Data from the 2002 National Highway
  Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

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DUI Facts

• Impaired driving is one of the most frequently
  committed
• crimes, killing someone in America every 30
  minutes
• Alcohol-related crashes accounted for 38 of
  Floridas
• total number of traffic fatalities (NHTSA, 2005)
• Hillsborough County is a state leader in DUI
  crashes
• (1,976), injuries (1,432), and fatalities (75)
  (FDHSMV,
• 2004)
• There were 7,134 arrests in Hillsborough County
  this past
• year 5.6 increase from 2004 (HCSO, 2005)

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Current Project

• DUI initiative has been funded by a Justice
• Assistance grant in order to combat drinking and
  driving
• This is in response to the high DUI arrest rate
  and the need
• for law enforcement, legal system, and treatment
  to
• collaborate on this problem
• The goal of the project is to assess alcohol
  policy within
• Hillsborough County focusing on (1) law
  enforcement,
• (2) judicial system, (3) treatment
  considerations, (4)
• gaps in the system, and (5) recommendations

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Design and Procedure

• Interviews conducted
• Tampa Police Dept
• Sheriffs Office (HCSO)
• Misdemeanor Court
• Drug Court
• State Attorney
• Division of ABT
• MADD
• Salvation Army
• DUI Counterattack
• Tampa Crossroads
• Univ. of Tampa

• Field Observations
• Attended meetings
• Anti-Drug Alliance
• Tampa Alcohol Coalition
• MADD
• City Council (drink specials)
• Observed two DUI checkpoints
• Went on two DUI ride alongs
• Observed court
• Dependency drug court
• Juvenile drug court
• Observed DUI counterattack assessment
• Accompanied undercover officers in Ybor City

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Flowchart of DUI Process
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Flowchart of DUI Arrests and Education/Treatment
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Major Gaps in the DUI System
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Explanations for the High DUI Rate
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Explanations for Repeat DUI Offenses
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Recommendations

• More public transportation
• Inclusion of a DUI court
• Stricter enforcement of laws - Laws shouldn't be
• stronger we just need to enforce what we have.
  So if an
• arrest is for DUI, the conviction shouldn't be
  for
• reckless driving.
• Stricter treatment requirements
• Increased education

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Recommendations (Cont.)

• Increased communication among law enforcement,
• judicial system, and treatment
• Mandatory blood testing at time of arrest
• Hire more DUI prosecutors
• Increased public awareness
• We are never going to stop people from drinking
  we just need to make it safer

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Next Steps

• Meet with the Chief Judge and Drug Court Judge
• regarding DUI Court
• Facilitate a collaborative meeting with law
• enforcement, state attorneys office, and
  treatment
• providers
• Start a new chapter of UMADD at Rider University