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Issaquah police officers plan to join a regional push to pull drunken drivers from local roads as summer comes to a close.

The agency is joining other police departments in King County — and more than 10,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide — from Aug. 19 to Sept. 5 in the Drive Hammered, Get Nailed campaign.

Beneath the clever title is a serious message about the impacts of drunken driving and driving under the influence. DUI crashes claimed 38 people on King County roads last year.

During the Drive Hammered, Get Nailed campaign last year, officers on routine and extra patrols arrested 438 people for DUI. Overall, prosecutors charged 9,521 people countywide for DUI last year.

Besides the Issaquah Police Department, the Drive Hammered, Get Nailed campaign includes the nearby Bellevue, Newcastle, North Bend, Sammamish, Snoqualmie and Renton police departments, in addition to the Washington State Patrol.
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In a decision that has wide-ranging implications for photo enforcement, speeding tickets and driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) charges, the US Supreme Court yesterday reconfirmed the Sixth Amendment right to confront one’s accuser applies to analysts who claim to have certified evidence from a machine. The 5-4 decision concluded that “stand-in” expert witnesses are not a substitute for the individuals who actually conducted the tests. The decision broadens the applicability of the landmark Melendez-Diaz ruling from 2009, which has already led to appellate division cases in four California counties to throw out red light camera evidence.

The high court examined the case of Donald Bullcoming whose vehicle rear-ended a truck belonging to Dennis Jackson in Farmington, New Mexico on August 14, 2005. Jackson went to exchange insurance information with Bullcoming and noticed that the man smelled of alcohol. Bullcoming fled the scene on foot before police arrived, but Officer Marty Snowbarger caught up to him and arrested him for DUI. After a breath test was refused, Snowbarger obtained a warrant to take Bullcoming’s blood. Forensic analyst Curtis Caylor’s test of this sample showed a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.21, a result that served as the primary evidence against Bullcoming at trial.
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Drinking and driving is notoriously known for being dangerous, but it turns out that imbibing even one drink can seriously impair a driver.

University of California sociologist David Phillips and coauthor Kimberly M. Brewer found that blood-alcohol levels below the legal limit of 0.08 percent are still associated with injury and death-related vehicle accidents. The UC San Diego study, published in the journal “Addiction,” displayed that as little as one drink can impair a driver enough to cause a fatal or severe accident.

Phillips and Brewer looked at data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which includes information on all U.S. people involved in fatal car accidents. They examined the ratio of severe injuries to minor ones.

The data set had nearly 1.5 million people between 1994 and 2008. It covered all times of day accidents were reported and the blood-alcohol content of those involved by increments of 0.01 percent.

“Accidents are 36.6 percent more severe even when alcohol was barely detectable in a driver’s blood,” Phillips said.
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Under pressure from regulators, Apple has followed RIM in banning DUI checkpoint apps from its app store.

In an update to its App Store Review Guidelines, Apple this week banned the offending apps. “Apps which contain DUI checkpoints that are not published by law enforcement agencies, or encourage and enable drunk driving, will be rejected,” the company’s guidelines now read.

In March, several senators wrote to Google, Apple, and RIM to express concern about apps that allow users to keep tabs on—and possibly evade—DUI checkpoints, which they said was “harmful to public safety.” They asked the companies to remove the apps or alter them so they do not allow for DUI checkpoint information.

RIM later said it would remove the apps from BlackBerry App World, but they remained in the Apple App Store and Google Android Market.

When Google and Apple representatives appeared before a Senate subcommittee last month to discuss location-tracking technologies, Sen. Charles Schumer, who initiated the inquiry, questioned the companies about their policies on the DUI checkpoint apps.

Guy Tribble, a former physician who is now vice president of software technology at Apple, said he shared Schumer’s abhorrence of drunk driving, but said “Apple, in this case, is carefully examining the situation.”

“One of the things we found is that some of these apps are actually publishing data on when and where the checkpoints are [based on data] published by the police departments,” Tribble said. “In some cases, the police department actually publishes when and where they’re going to have a checkpoint, [though] not all of them do.”
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And while lawmakers called on smart phone companies last week to ban the programs that could enable drunk drivers to steer clear of police traps, legal experts say the law protects hackers who install unapproved software onto their phones.

So far Research in Motion, the company that makes Blackberry, is the only company that has complied with the request from four Democratic Senators. But even if companies were to ban all DUI dodging apps from their online store, customers would still have a legal right to bypass security software independently.

An exemption was granted in 2010 by the Librarian of Congress, the office that oversees copyrights, and makes it impossible for companies to sue individuals for circumventing the company’s proprietary security software.

Under the revised rules, it’s not illegal for wireless telephone users to hack into a company’s security system to access programs that the company has previously disabled if the intent of the hacker is to simply use those programs. This is cited on the government’s website copyright.gov as exempt from the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, passed during the Clinton administration.

“Jailbreaking” or “rooting” a phone is a term used by hackers to describe the process in which a smart phone is unhinged from company control – it allows for the installation of unapproved programs. Savvy customers could load up the DUI dodging software as long as the program wasn’t obtained illegally.
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US lawmakers have served an ultimatum on smartphone makers, Google, Research in Motion (RIM) and Apple to get rid of their just launched DUI (Driving under the influence of intoxication) software, which helps drunk drivers to evade police checkpoints.

“Drunk drivers should not have tools to evade law enforcement and endanger our friends and families,” four Senators said in a letter to these companies.

Such a third party software, which comes at a throwaway price ranging from 99 cents to $5 has started flooding the US market, days after hitting the stands, US TV channels reported.

The smartphone companies are luring customers with slogans, “Tired of traffic tickets? The embarrassment, the time, the points and the frustration?”

“You will be alerted as you approach Railroad crossings, dangerous intersections, speed traps, speed cameras, red light cameras, school zones and DUI (Driving under the influence of intoxication) checkpoints.”
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WASHINGTON — Saying that it has arrived at “a new frontier in the fight against drunk driving,” the U.S. Department of Transportation on Friday outlined plans for new alcohol-detection technologies in vehicles. It said the goal is to integrate such technologies into vehicles in 8-10 years.

The new Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety includes a touch-based system called “tissue spectrometry” that senses blood-alcohol concentration. A second option is “distant spectrometry” that uses part of the infrared light spectrum to detect alcohol concentration in the driver’s breath. If the system detects that the driver is drunk, the vehicle will be disabled.

“The goal over time is to equip all passenger vehicles in the U.S. with the technology, since without full implementation the benefits will be reduced,” said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in a statement.

The federal government is in the middle of a five-year, $10-million cooperative effort with automakers to develop such technologies. The NHTSA said it will kick off “practical demonstrations of one or more of the alcohol-detection technologies” later this year. The automakers involved in the project include BMW, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai/Kia, Jaguar/Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

“The [alcohol-detection] technology is not intended to prevent anyone from having a glass of wine or an alcoholic beverage for dinner,” said the NHTSA.

It said the cost per vehicle has not yet been established, but that such technology could be “voluntarily installed as an option for new cars.”

The NHTSA said 10,839 people died nationwide in crashes involving a drunk driver in 2009. These deaths make up 32 percent of all fatal crashes, it said.

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He was arrested, convicted by a jury, and Monday the Madison firefighter who drove a fire truck drunk was sentenced.

The forty-three year old firefighter won’t have to serve any jail time but will have to pay nearly $1,000 in fines and court costs, he will lose his driver’s license for 30 days, and can’t drink alcohol for a year.

The volunteer firefighter was arrested Labor Day weekend with a 0.098 blood alcohol level when a Madison police officer saw him drive back to the fire station after he responded to a call.

An official with the South Dakota Firefighters Association says every fire department needs to use the Madison case as a reminder to have proper policies and rules in place to prevent something like this from happening again.

“I think this will be a good eye opener for some,” Southeast Director of the South Dakota Firefighter’s Association Charlie Kludt said.

Kludt says the South Dakota Firefighter’s Association discussed the case shortly after the volunteer firefighter was arrested.

“All emergency service individuals are kind of held to a higher standard, and they should be. We’re supposed to respond to help people in a professional manner, and that’s what I hope a lot of smaller departments, and all fire departments and emergency people learn from this,” Kludt said.

Kludt says he hopes fire departments across the state will review how firefighters should handle themselves in the community.

“We’d like to make sure that all the volunteer departments have a policy in place. I think a lot of the departments really went back and reviewed that, whether it be with their community, with their city council, with their insurance companies, just so everyone had a good policy in place is really what we hope for in these smaller departments,” Kludt said.

Because they know one mistake can cause big problems on a fire call, even if it is in a small community.

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Americans across the country are planning their New Year’s celebrations. But during this exciting time of parties and resolutions, it’s important to keep safety in mind.

The fact is, New Year’s Eve can be one of the most dangerous nights of the year on our nation’s roadways because of drunk and impaired driving. How big is the problem? In 2008, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.

11,773 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. Of the 1,347 traffic fatalities among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2008, about one out of every six (16%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.

Of the 216 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2008, about half (99) were riding in the vehicle with an alcohol-impaired driver. In 2009 alone, 10,839 people were killed in drunk driving crashes, representing 32 percent of all traffic fatalities for the year. That’s why DOT’s annual “Over the Limit, Under Arrest” winter holiday crackdown is currently under way, helping to raise awareness and get drunk drivers off the streets.

Every day, 32 people in the United States die, in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 45 minutes. The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $51 billion. But there are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving.

Law enforcement officers across the country are stepping up visibility and increasing vigilance as part of the campaign. And the new “No Refusal” initiative DOT is promoting nationwide will help ensure that drivers suspected of being under the influence will face the strictest penalties possible for their actions.

But ultimately, putting a stop to drunk driving begins with personal responsibility. Organizations like MADD have told us the stories for years, of a fun evening out with friends that took a tragic turn because someone made the poor decision to drink and drive.

Who is most at risk? Young people: At all levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), the risk of being involved in a crash is greater for young people than for older people. Among drivers with BAC levels of 0.08 % or higher involved in fatal crashes in 2008, more than one out of every 3 were between 21 and 24 years of age (34%). The next two largest groups were ages 25 to 34 (31%) and 35 to 44 (25%).

Motorcyclists: Among motorcyclists killed in fatal crashes, 30% have BACs of 0.08% or greater. Nearly half of the alcohol-impaired motorcyclists killed each year are 40 or older, and motorcyclists ages 40-44 have the highest percentage of fatalities with BACs of 0.08% or greater (44%).

Drivers with prior driving while impaired (DWI) convictions: Drivers with a BAC of 0.08% or higher involved in fatal crashes were eight times more likely to have a prior conviction for DWI than were drivers with no alcohol (8% and 1%, respectively).
So, as you head out this New Year’s Eve, make a plan. Choose a designated driver. Take public transportation. Call a cab. But don’t get behind the wheel if you’ve had too much to drink. It’s not worth the consequences. Make 2011 a happy–and safe–new year.

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Law enforcement officers will be joining with others nationwide in preparing for a busy holiday travel season as motorists take to the highways for the Christmas and New Year’s holiday weekends.

Operation Zero Tolerance DUI Crackdown is already under way with sobriety checkpoints to be placed at strategic locations throughout the holiday period, according to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. Officials are urging everyone to wear proper safety belts and to use child safety seats, pointing out that is the best defense against a drunk driver.

The GOHS urges those who do drink to appoint a designated driver and remind that anyone breaking DUI laws will go to jail.

“No matter who you are, what you drive or where you drive it, when you’re caught driving impaired, you will be arrested. No warnings. No excuses. No exceptions,” said GOHS Director Bob Dallas.

Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety Col. Bill Hitchens said the Christmas and New Year’s holiday periods are each 78 hours long and warned they could be deadly for motorists.

The Christmas holiday travel period begins Thursday at 6 p.m. and ends at midnight Sunday. The New Year’s travel period begins on Dec. 30 and ends at midnight, Jan. 2.

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