This Labor Day, and Every Day: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

Each year, Americans mark the end of summer with the Labor Day holiday weekend, a time to celebrate the hard work and many accomplishments of our country. Friends and families eagerly await pool parties, backyard barbecues, and other occasions to enjoy the last days of summer sunshine. Sadly, the Labor Day holiday has also become one of the deadliest, with drunk drivers endangering themselves and others on their way home from these holiday festivities. This year, the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office and SAFE Coalition are partnering with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to get drunk drivers off the roads and help save lives. The high-visibility national enforcement campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, runs from August 17 through September 3, 2018. During this period, local law enforcement will show zero tolerance for drunk driving. Increased State and national messages about the dangers of driving impaired, coupled with enforcement and increased officers on the road, aim to drastically reduce drunk driving on our nation’s roadways.

Sadly, the statistics prove that we have a lot of work to do to put an end to drunk driving. According to NHTSA, 10,497 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2016. On average, 10,000 people were killed each year from 2012 to 2016—one person killed every 50 minutes in 2016. That’s the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing each year, with no survivors. This is why the Sheriff’s Office and SAFE Coalition are working with NHTSA to remind drivers that drunk driving is not only illegal, it is a matter of life and death. As you head out to Labor Day festivities, remember: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.

Over the 2016 Labor Day holiday period (6 p.m. September 2 – 5:59 a.m. September 6), there were 433 crash fatalities nationwide. Of the fatal crashes, more than one-third (36%) involved drivers who were drunk (.08+ blood alcohol concentration [BAC]), and one-fourth (25%) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the legal limit (.15+ BAC). Age is a particularly risky factor: Among the drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday period in 2016, 47 percent of those fatalities involved drunk drivers with BACs of .08 or higher.

We need our community to understand: It’s up to them to make the smart decision to drive sober—Labor Day, and every day. Drunk driving is a huge problem in our country, and the numbers are rising, little by little. This isn’t about a ticketing campaign. This is about a campaign to get the message out that drunk driving is illegal and it takes lives. Help us put an end to this senseless behavior. 

There is a small, silver lining: During the 2016 Labor Day holiday, 36 percent of fatalities in traffic crashes involved a drunk driver, which was one of the lowest percentages over the five-year period from 2012 to 2016. We still have a lot of work to do. The trend for the Labor Day holiday is in a positive direction, but our goal is to have zero fatalities, always.

The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office, SAFE Coalition and NHTSA are reminding citizens of the resources available to get them home safely. Drunk driving is not an acceptable behavior. It is essential to plan a sober ride home before you ever leave for the party. That’s why, during the Labor Day holiday, we will make zero exceptions for drunk driving. There are just no excuses. 

The Sheriff’s Office and SAFE Coalition recommend these safe alternatives to drinking and driving:

·         Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve had only one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan for someone to get you home safely.

·         Download NHTSA’s SaferRide mobile app, available on Google Play for Android devices: (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nhtsa.SaferRide&hl=en), and Apple’s iTunes Store for iOS devices: (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/saferride/id950774008?mt=8). SaferRide allows users to call a predetermined friend, and identifies the user’s location so they can be picked up.

·         If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office (911).

·         Have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get your friend home safely.

For more information about the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, visit www.TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov.

Back to School Activities: It’s 3pm on a school day. Do you know where your children are?

As summer vacations end and students start a new school year, here are a few reasons you should encourage them to get involved with after-school activities:

·         Children & teens are more likely to be the victims of crime during the after-school hours than at any other time

·         Children & teens are more likely to participate in violent crimes during the after-school hours than at any other time

·         Children & teens are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as tobacco, alcohol or drug use or sexual activity during the after-school hours than at any other time

Courtesy National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center

Our young children often attend after school daycare or programs provided by their elementary schools, but by the time children reach middle school they are often left on their own after school.  It seems sensible enough. They are old enough to get their own snacks and open their books to complete their homework. They know who to call if they have an emergency. However, adolescents benefit from after-school activities and supervision, too.

Youth who spend only a couple of hours per week in extracurricular after-school activities are significantly less likely to drop out of school; become teen parents; or use tobacco, alcohol or drugs. Spending 5-19 hours per week in after-school activities reduced the risk even further.

It is important that these activities are not just time wasters, but are programs that help youth develop skills and values and provide them with experiences that mean something to them.

It doesn't take a lot. Our schools and community offer a variety of after-school clubs, sports and activities. Encourage your children to find something that interests them and participate regularly.  If your student is in Grades 7-12 please have them check into the Youth Leadership Council that meets at the VBCSD Middle/High School.  This is a group sponsored by the Van Buren County SAFE Coalition and works on leadership skills with the youth involved to address health, wellness, and substance abuse prevention in Van Buren County. 

For information on keeping your kids active and the activities available in Van Buren County you can contact the SAFE Coalition by phone at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017 or by email at safe.coalition@van-burencsd.org.

Local Social Host Ordinance FAQ

Q:  Who is a social host?

A:  The ordinance states: A social host is any person who aids, conducts, allows, entertains, organizes, supervises, controls, or permits an event, gathering, or party.  This includes, but is not limited to: a) the person(s) who owns, rents, leases, or otherwise has control of the premises where the event, gathering, or party takes place; b) the person(s) in charge of the premises; or c) the person(s) who organized the event.  If the social host is a juvenile, then the parent(s) of that juvenile will be jointly and severally liable for any violation of this chapter. 

Q:  Does the Social Host Ordinance apply to property owners who are not present and do not know about the underage consumption of alcohol on their property?

A:  The ordinance states:  The social host knowingly permits or allows underage persons to consume alcoholic beverages, and/or controlled substances, and/or prescription drugs; The social host reasonably should know that an underage person or persons has consumed alcoholic beverages, and/or controlled substances, and/or prescription drugs; The social host knowingly permits or allows underage persons to possess an alcoholic beverage, and/or controlled substance(s), and/or prescription drug(s).  A social host who hosts such an event, gathering, or party does not need to be on the premises at the time the prohibited act occurs to be in violation of this chapter. 

A social host has an affirmative defense if the social host took reasonable steps to prevent the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages and/or controlled substances, and/or prescription drugs such as contacting law enforcement and allowing officers onto the premises for the purpose of stopping these illegal activities.

So, if property is utilized for an underage drinking party without the owner’s knowledge the owner cannot be held liable. 

Q:  Does the Social Host Ordinance apply to events on Public Property?

A:  The ordinance states that a premises is any home, yard, farm, field, land, apartment, condominium, hotel or motel room, or other dwelling unit, or a hall or meeting room, park or any other place of assembly, public or private, whether occupied on a temporary or permanent basis, whether occupied as a dwelling or specifically for a party or other social function, and whether owned, leased, rented, or used with or without permission or compensation.

So if an event is held on public property where underage persons are consuming alcohol and the host knowingly allows the consumption to go on they can be held liable. 

A social host has an affirmative defense if the social host took reasonable steps to prevent the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages and/or controlled substances, and/or prescription drugs such as contacting law enforcement and allowing officers onto the premises for the purpose of stopping these illegal activities.

Q:  Does the Social Host Ordinance give authorities permission to enter private property without permission?

A:  This ordinance does not allow authorities to come on private property without permission.

For more about the Social Host Ordinance please contact the SAFE Coalition at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017 or safe.coalition@van-burencsd.org.