2008 Woodie Awards
Drunk driving arrests on the rise at UMass
Katie Huston, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: News
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However, according to Deputy Chief Pat Archbald of UMPD, it's hard to know if more students are driving after they drink.
"I can't say empirically if it's a result of us being more aggressive, or if people are doing more drinking and driving," said Archbald.
In 2007, 68 people were arrested by the UMPD for operating under the influence, riding a steady three-year rise in OUI arrests. From 1998 to 2004, the department averaged about 22 OUI arrests per year. This year, 23 arrests had been made through mid-March.
For people over 21, OUI is defined as having a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher. Massachusetts has a "zero-tolerance" policy for underage drinkers, with a limit of .02 BAC, which can come from drinking less than one beer.
Although OUI is the official term used in Massachusetts, driving under the influence (DUI) and driving while intoxicated (DWI) - are often used as well.
The trend at UMass parallels national data, which suggests the number of college students driving while intoxicated has increased since 1998. A 2005 study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) estimated that 2.8 million college students drove under the influence of alcohol in 2001, up from 2.3 million in 1998.
However, Archbald attributes the increased arrests at UMass to two other factors: an increase of about eight UMPD officers since 2002, and state grants earmarked to target OUIs.
"We have more officers on the street," Archbald said. "Officers are hired on overtime with a specific orientation to stopping cars and finding drunk drivers."
State grants have allowed UMPD to run OUI patrols similar to the "click It or Ticket" program, which catches people without a seatbelt. The department has also conducted two roadblocks in cooperation with state police, and Archbald says the number of car stops where the driver has not been drinking has also increased.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 8
Chris Smith
posted 4/11/08 @ 9:24 AM EST
The problem is self-imposed by the school as they centralize police efforts around campus and in the direct vicinity of campus, more partygoers are forced into the surrounding neighborhoods, off of the buslines. (Continued…)
UMass student
posted 4/11/08 @ 10:57 AM EST
Was the person driving the car pictured on the front page being charged with drunk driving? If it's just a picture of someone getting a speeding ticket, you need to make that known, just blurring out the license plate doesn't fix it. (Continued…)
Michael McDuff
posted 4/13/08 @ 11:45 PM EST
Crack down more? More cops is not the answer. Although I think that is probably a large part of the increase in dui's, lets not be stupid and focus on punishing people or catching more people, let's actually try to alleviate the problem. (Continued…)
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