Drunken drivers, listen up

Save yourself some money, heartache and jail time.

The local police and state troopers are on alert this time of year looking for people who don’t know when to stop the party.

If you think calling a cab is expensive, or asking a friend to drive you home is inconvenient, think about this.

The cost of a first offense for drinking and driving is $1,500 and three days in jail. If your car is impounded, that’s another few hundred. Then you have to pay $270 for the privilege of going to jail and a court surcharge of $125. Then, likely, you’ll have to pay for a bondsman to spring you. Then there’s the substance abuse class/classes that can cost hundreds more. And finally, you get to see your insurance rates go up.

And that’s the best of it.

Those costs are nothing if you injure or kill somebody because of your selfishness. If someone is injured or killed, jail won’t be your punishment. You’ll go to prison.

Before that, you’ll likely be confronted by the victim or family members of the deceased in court.

There is some good news, at least from records in 2006.

Of the 73 traffic fatalities that year, 27 percent were related to alcohol abuse. That number was lowest number from a chart that goes back to 1982 when 59 percent of the 105 traffic deaths were linked to alcohol. The highest death rate in Alaska on the roads was 150 in 1983 and well over half were booze-related.

So we have made some strides in the last decade and a half. But zero is a better figure and we can all make that number a reality by just calling a cab or not drinking or staying at home or asking a friend for a favor.

Drinking and driving is a selfish crime that can devastate families and communities. It’s also 100 percent preventable. For those who are callous enough to imbibe then get behind the wheel, we must be rigorous in the strong enforcement of our DUI laws. And where those fall short, we must employ tougher laws with tougher consequences. One way our Legislature could step up is cracking down on those who enable this dangerous behavior. It is much less likely a drunk could get behind the wheel if he or she had no vehicle. It’s also difficult for those habitual offenders to menace our roadways from a jail cell.

Every alcohol-related death on our roads is preventable, and it’s past time we demanded accountability from everyone in a position to prevent these tragedies who fail to do so.

Cell phone abusers

There are so many people who say they would never drink and drive, yet yak mindlessly away on cell phones while driving in congested traffic, oblivious to other drivers around them.

Nobody. Nobody is that busy or important that they can’t pull over, make the call, and then get back on the road. And if you call somebody and you know they are driving, tell them to call you back and hang up.

There has been more than one study that compared driving and talking on phones similarly with drinking and driving.

And we know the tragedies accounted for by drunk drivers.

Not long ago, though, 9-year-old Erica Foray of Fort Colleens, Colo., was riding her bike home from school when she was hit and killed by a driver who was reportedly distracted by a cell-phone conversation.

Take a moment to ponder how you would feel if you were driving the vehicle that killed a child who just wanted to get home after a day at school.

How important would that call stack up to her death? How important would you feel then?

The likelihood is, most of the phone calls that take place in cars or pickups are being made and received because people are simply lonely.

The same as people who stand in line at the post office and have general conversations. Or rude individuals who talk on a phone at a restaurant while their dining partner waits for a conversation in person.

We’ve grown to a state in this country where people can’t stand to be alone.

They can’t abide being out of touch even if it’s for a few minutes.

And that’s sad. Not as sad, though, as killing a child on her bicycle.

Like the bumper stickers say, hang up and drive.