City to conduct sobriety checks

By Lee Zucker

Published Aug. 28, 2007

A sobriety checkpoint will be conducted somewhere in Columbia this weekend. The checkpoint is supported by federal grants and approved by the Missouri Division of Highway Safety.

As state-sponsored coalitions and on-campus organizations work to deter drunk driving, the Missouri Department of Transportation continues to strive toward lowering the average 400 to 450 DWI arrests per year with forceful actions such as a checkpoint, MU police Capt. Scott Richardson said.

Wellness Resource Center director Kim Dude said the most common excuse she hears is, "I was the least drunk person in the group."

"There should be no reason in this community to drink and drive with CHEERS and STRIPES and all of our programs," she said.

The checkpoint grant begins by a request from the Columbia Police Department and is approved by the Division of Highway Safety. Most often the areas with a greater population and more fatalities receive these grants, said Laura Holloway, MoDOT outreach specialist. The statewide "You drink and drive. You lose" program has focused on cities with a higher population in order to deter more people from driving under the influence.

"Sobriety checkpoints are meant as a deterrent," Dude said. "The point is not to catch people."

Along with the coalitions, the goals of the Wellness Resource Center have been to raise awareness and educate the city of Columbia. Dude views this checkpoint as a way to reach similar goals: to raise awareness, act a deterrent for even non-students and make Columbia's roads a safer place.

"We want to keep our campus safe, Dude said. "We have students walking around all day and all night. The sobriety checkpoint keeps drivers aware."

Although he agrees with the checkpoint, DWI Lawyer Bob Murray said the tests conducted at the checkpoint are not accurate. He said he feels the problem is that it is legal in the state of Missouri to have a drink and then drive, and that breathalyzers have a 47 percent margin of error and are 100 percent accurate only 11 percent of the time.

The way for sobriety checkpoints to be more effective, Murray said, is to use state-of-the-art equipment in a controlled environment, even if it results in drawing blood after all other tests have been completed.

Murray said the current equipment is only calibrated every five weeks.

"If you're doing good science, you don't just take more than one point to test something dealing with driving ability in a controlled environment," he said. "Roadside checks are not natural places for citizens. What we do in Missouri, it's not good science. It's just good enough for government work."

Columbia Police Department could not be reached for comment regarding the quality of their Breathalyzers.

In 2006, 401 DWI arrests occurred, and 244 have occurred so far this year.

Last year, 119 of those arrests were recorded from August to December, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Statistical Analysis Center Web site.

Programs such as STRIPES provide an outlet for those under the influence to arrive home safely and avoid any trouble with potentially inaccurate roadside tests and extreme fines of up to $1000. Restaurants participating in the CHEERS program promote responsible drinking by offering free non-alcoholic drinks to the designated driver in a group.

A survey conducted from 2002 to 2006 by the Wellness Resource Center found a 17 percent decrease in students who have driven under the influence in Columbia.

"It's never a good idea to drink and drive, but especially not in Columbia," Dude said.