Today's DUI Panel

Tonight I had the privilege of observing a MADD DUI Impact Panel. For those not familiar, this is a court mandated meeting for DUI offenders, where speakers from MADD educate and inform offenders of the gravity of driving under the influence, hoping to persuade them to better life choices.

I spent the first part of my volunteer time helping to set up the room for what would be a sizable crowd, of approximately 175 people. Extra chairs had to be brought in, and the room rearranged to accommodate for the large crowd. As we prepared, the crowd gathered outside. As this is court mandated, recipients receive a certificate upon completion of the meeting, as proof of their attendance. The cost of the meeting is $45, which as I learned, is a small price to pay in comparison to the fines associated with this crime.

Myself and two other ladies manned the registration desk, verifying personal information, and collecting money for the event. We were accompanied by two police officers, there for our safety, and usually to administer breathalyzer tests to every attendee. The testers were in for recalibration, but I assume our already 30 minute registration process could have easily taken 45-60 minutes with the testing.

It seemed like an endless line of people. I tried to greet each person kindly, looking them in the eye, smiling at them as I took their information, and even addressing some by name. It's amazing the response you get from a person when you use their name, and smile at them. Can you imagine the embarrassment of coming to one of these things? Some people dressed in business attire, with suit pants and button downs, while others looked like they hadn't slept in days.

There was a young man that came up towards the end, with what I assume was his guardian. He had no photo ID, which meant he couldn't attend the meeting. He argued, telling us that he was going to be arrested for violating parole if he didn't attend today, as he had already gotten an extension on taking this class, and this was the last day of the extension. When asked if he had any form of photo ID, he said all he had was a medical marajuana card. He grew more upset that he couldn't attend, knowing that he may be put in jail for violation of parole, and walked away. His guardian was polite and understanding, trying to work with us. Eventually, we were able to provide guidance on where to go from there. It was hard to be understanding in that situation. You know, going into this, that at least 10% of attendees will end up as repeat offenders, and some, back in the very same class months down the road. A harsh reality.

The first speaker was our program director, who went over the statistics for drunk driving accidents. Did you know that 28 people PER DAY are killed in drunk driving accidents, in the US alone? That's nearly 200 people dying per week, from completely preventable crashes. As the program director pointed out, that's like a plane crashing every single week, of every single month, every single year, and finding out every single pilot flying those planes was drunk...and then doing nothing about it.
Well, not nothing. There are meetings like this one for "pilots" all over the country. But when's the last time this made national news. If a plane crashed every week with a drunk captain, there would be hell in the media. But drunk driving accidents, not so much. It's so cliche now, so much a part of life.

In Arizona alone, 256 people were killed last year at the hands of a drunk driver. As Arizona is a no tolerance state, it doesn't matter if your BAC is above the legal limit, if you've had anything to drink, or you are under the influence of prescription or elicit drugs, and you are pulled over for impaired or reckless driving, you're done. The degree of punishment varies, but fines usually start around $3000. One of the speakers had everyone stand, and then had people sit down as she went up the scale on how much in fines they had to pay thus far. $3,000...only a few sat down. Anyone pay under $4,000? Only a few more. Every thousand dollars she went up, and at $10,000 nearly half the room was still standing. She kept going to $12,000, and that left about 10 people. She asked them individually how much it had costed them. Fifteen, twenty, forty-five thousand...my mouth almost hit the floor.
The $40 Uber fare seems worth it now, doesn't it?

Driving under the influence is no respecter of age, race, color or religion. In fact, the majority of the attendees, with the exception of a small group were well into their twenties and above. Not the stereotypical "young, stupid kids". You don't have to start out as a stupid person to get a DUI charge, drinking does that for you. Drinking makes us all kinds of stupid.

It's amazing what one drink can do. The effects of alcohol vary from person to person, but the facts are the same for how long it takes to get out of your system. A blood alcohol level of .08 is the legal limit in all 50 states. For the last nine years running, the average DUI charges in Arizona, hold a BAC of .16. That's twice the legal limit. Nine years running... To get down from a .16 BAC it would take 10 hours of no drinking to get it out of your system. To get .08 out of your system takes five.

The next two speakers of the night were both speaking for the victim. The first shared the story of her and her husband. They were party-loving people with two teenage sons. They were an average family, who didn't go out driving on the holidays, because that's the time when all the drunk people are out driving. It was an average weekend night, and her husband and youngest son went out to see a movie. They were hit 2 minutes from their house. She heard the crash, heard the sirens, but it couldn't possibly be them.
The phone calls from two different hospitals where they were taken, started flooding in. Her son, who's face and head were lacerated several times, unrecognizable to his mother. Her husband who was revived at the scene, was now permanently paralyzed, his spinal chord severed in the accident. He spent the next ten years of his life in and out of the hospital, until he finally passed away from complications of his injuries. Her son survived, and gives her words to speak at these meetings.

The next speaker was a husband and wife team. The husband is a double amputee. Immediately, I thought he was a victim of a DUI crash. But drugs and alcohol affected him in a different way. His addictions caused sepsis and his legs were burned from the inside out. He had a 1% change to live, with every major organ in his body in failure. He survived, and six months later, after getting his life together, and getting a new start with his family, their only son was killed in a DUI crash at the age of twenty.

All those times out partying and nothing happened, and then that one time...

The biggest word used in the panel was "choice". Everyone has them. Everyone makes them. Some are good, some are bad, some are deadly. No choice only affects the individual. The ripple effect from DUI is incredible, powerful, and sobering.

The message of the DUI Impact Panels is to encourage others to make better choices, to be faced with the possibility of their crime, in hopes that they won't do it again. It's not to cast blame. It's not to inflict guilt. It's not even to tell people not to drink. It's to put a face to a crime, to hopefully reach people before it's too late.

I was so impressed at the forgiveness and strength of the speakers tonight. Their stories were heart-wrenching. I sat there, thinking about my own family and friends...the ripple. My insides hurt for these people, as I understand, in a very small way, what they have gone through. They were parents, and wives. I thought of my mom, and my parents, and a million memories came flooding back. Flashbacks coming at me in all directions as they shared their stories. I couldn't help but think...I'm so glad my parents still have their child. If for nothing else, the pain of losing me would have devastated them, and I saw that in these parents.

These are the chilling facts of driving under the influence. These are the realities of that decision.

At the end of the meeting, I was assisting in passing out surveys and pencils. Certificates were being called out, and there was a hubbub of people surrounding the tables. Still holding my surveys, a woman came up to me and said, "Thank you. Thank you so much. I don't ever want to drink and drive again. If I can save one person by not doing this I will. I just..." And the tears started coming when I reached out and put my hand on her arm, and said, "You're welcome, thank you." She hugged me and cried, saying thank you several more times before walking away.

This is why.