DUI Takes Toll On Skills, Privileges

Justin Veenhuis fails a sobriety test under the watchful eye of Deputy Mike Harris of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

By Misty Volaski
Drinking and driving don’t mix, as Justin Veenhuis discovered in an OVN drunk-driving simulation Tuesday night.
“The handcuffs are reason enough not to drink and drive!” Veenhuis lamented after about 20 minutes in the steel constraints.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 170-pound Ojai Valley resident drank three cocktails, a beer and a shot, and then was taken to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department-Ojai Substation and put through a mock DUI traffic stop with Deputy Mike Harris.
After asking a series of questions designed to assure that Veenhuis’ suspected drunkenness wasn’t a result of any physical or medical disabilities, Harris administered all the tests as he would on an actual DUI traffic stop: having Veenhuis track the officer’s finger with his eyes without moving his head (failed); tilting Veenhuis’ head back with eyes closed and silently counting out 30 seconds to himself (failed); having Veenhuis walk nine steps, heel to toe, in one direction, then the other (failed); having Veenhuis lift one foot for 30 seconds, then the other for 30 seconds (failed miserably and nearly fell over); and having Veenhuis close his eyes and touch his left and right index fingers to his nose as Harris requested (failed with bravado).
Then came the preliminary alcohol screen, the pre-breath-test test. Harris took two readings, finding that Veenhuis had a blood alcohol level (BAC) of .11 and .12 percent — well over the legal limit of .08 percent for adults over age 21. The real breath test came next, finding similar results and creating a printout of Veenhuis’ BAC.
Veenhuis could have refused the breath test, or requested a blood test (which would have been done at Ventura County Medical Center). Had he attempted and failed one test, then refused the other, he would have been arrested and automat-ically had his license suspended for one year. He would also then be required to give a blood test anyway, even if it had to be forced (and, if convicted, he would face additional penalties for this refusal).
After taking into account all of Veenhuis’ test results (which weren’t pretty), his physical movements and the stench of alcohol on his breath, a very patient Harris had enough evidence to convince him that Veenhuis was drunk.
So away went poor Veenhuis, cuffs and all, to the Ojai Substation’s holding cells. Officer Harris demonstrated the operation of the on-site breath test device, which showed Veenhuis had BAC levels consistent with those found in the field.
Another Ojai Substation officer, Jacob Valenzuela, explained that all of these tests, both in-station and in the field, are designed to give the officers two types of information. One, officers gauge suspects’ “ability to follow our instructions. And two, their ability to carry out the tasks,” said Valenzuela.
To say Veenhuis was intoxicated and failed all his tests — instruction-following included — was clear. Throughout the test, our OVN guinea pig kept reiterating, “I am so, so glad this is not real!”
Had this been an actual DUI stop, Veenhuis would have been taken to the Ventura County Jail and booked, where he’d spend from four to 12 hours before signing an agreement to appear in court and being released. If convicted, Veenhuis would have faced a possible 48-hour jail sentence, three months of alcohol school, three years of probation, court fines of around $2,800 (which does not include traffic school costs or the thousands of dollars he’d pay his lawyer), and the doubling or tripling of his vehicle insurance costs.
And that’s just for a first-time offender with a BAC under .15 percent, no injuries or fatalities involved, and with no children under age 14 in the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop.
Add a couple of those in, and the district attorney can slap you with delightful “special enhancements” that can include years in prison, and 18 months of alcohol school (which will throw an additional $2,400 to your bar tab).
Oh, and you have to buy and install your own Ignition interlock device in your car to prevent you from driving under the influence again (that’s another $730 per year). And for repeat DUI offenders holding a Class A license? Forget it — you’ll never drive a semi again.
According to Harris, the repeat offenders are numerous, and their BACs often startling.
“Once, we had a guy with a .52 BAC,” he said. “Walked right into the station without help.”
“But doesn’t a .40 usually mean you’re, ya know, comatose?” I asked him.
Shockingly, Harris explained that alcoholics can often function at a .30 BAC. Pretty scary for the rest of us on the road. In California alone, an average of 130,000 people are arrested for DUI each year — that’s roughly one drunk driver for every 142 licensed individuals. Add to all of this statistics from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which show an average of only one of every 88 drunk drivers on the road are actually pulled over, and you begin to see the problem.
And the necessity for strict laws and steep fines. The bottom line: not only do drunk drivers kill 12,998 people a year and injure 500,000 more (2007 statistics, National Highway Traffic Safety Admini-stration), they also cost you a ton of money, time and pride.
So get a cab or designated driver. Bribe a buddy with a free dinner. His $50 surf ‘n’ turf is roughly $7,950 less than paying for a DUI. Even Wal-Mart can’t offer you those kinds of savings.
Just a little something to consider before leaving the office Christmas party this weekend.