Alcohol-Related Crashes Down; Still Room for Improvement

The number of drunk driving crashes in Athens County, Ohio and the United States has decreased over the past five years. However, some say it is not going down fast enough.

According to the Crash Facts database compiled by the Ohio Department of Public Safety, alcohol-related crashes in Athens County went down 15 percent over the past five years, dropping from 124 crashes in 2004 to 105 in 2008.

Meanwhile, such crashes were down 13.3 percent statewide over the last five full years of available data (2003-2007), while the amount of related injuries were cut by 16 percent. Nationwide, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration statistics put the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles of travel at .43, the lowest rate on record.

Yet those waging the battle to eradicate drunk driving are concerned that their recent efforts have "hit a wall," according to Doug Scoles, the executive director of Ohio's Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization.


View Athens County Alcohol-Related Crashes in a larger map

According to NHSTA data, alcohol-impaired crashes still make up about 32 percent of all fatal crashes. In Ohio, that percentage stands at 31.1 percent. While total alcohol-related crashes and injuries were indeed down in Athens County, they still resulted in eight fatalities, the most alcohol-related crash deaths in five years.

"There are still 13,000 people getting killed every year across the country," Scoles said. "If you happen to be the victim or the victim's family, it can be very devastating."

Consequences

A Columbus personal injury attorney that represents victims of drunk drivers said that in addition to injuries and death, victims or their families face a variety of problems.

"First, it is economically damaging," said Matt Ice, an associate attorney with The Plymale Partnership. "[Victims of drunk driving accidents] have many medical bills that are incurred as a result. Plus, they have to make up for lost wages.

"Certainly there are also non-economic effects, such as the pain that results both physically and emotionally. It might affect what they can do in the future."

Progress slows

According to a 2002 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, drunk driving fatalities went down 37 percent between 1982 and 1999. However, James H. Hedlund and Anne T. McCartt, authors of Drunk Driving: Seeking Additional Solutions, claim progress in lowering alcohol-related crashes started to slow in 1994.

"[Numbers] may go down for a year or two, but the numbers are not significantly declining," MADD's Scoles said. "We have been trying to reach kids at a younger age with education and awareness, and there have been improvements in safety technology and emergency medical services, but these things are not solving the problem."

According to DPS' Athens County statistics, alcohol is still the major cause of serious car accidents. Since 2004, 48 percent of all fatal crashes were alcohol-related. Drinking and driving played a role in 11 percent of all crashes that resulted in injury and 6 percent that caused property damage.

The data also indicates certain types of drivers and driving conditions are more likely to lead to alcohol-related traffic incidents and fatalities in Athens County.

Time of day

The first of these trends is the time of day when these crashes are most likely to occur. Since 2004, between 16 and 20 percent of all alcohol-related crashes in the county occurred between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., the largest percentage among all time periods.

Sgt. Karla Taulbee of the Ohio State Highway Patrol attributed this high percentage to the fact that people are “out and about, at bars [and elsewhere], so there’s more opportunities [for accidents to occur].” In addition, the large majority of fatal crashes during this time period – an average of 77 percent – were alcohol-related.

Gender of driver

The gender of the driver also plays a role in crashes that result between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. Men have consistently caused nearly twice as many total traffic accidents during this time, with over 20 percent of all their crashes involving alcohol.

Women have caused less traffic incidents, both with and without the influence of alcohol, during these hours, with 10 percent of their total accidents involving alcohol. This means that men have, over the past five years, caused at least three times as many alcohol-related traffic incidents as women between the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.

Age

Driver age influences the likelihood of an alcohol-related incident as well. Statistics since 2004 show that drivers between the ages of 26 and 30 consistently cause more injuries as a result of driving under the influence than any other age group of the same size. Victims of these accidents are usually between 21 and 25 years of age.

“My experience is that [the offenders usually consist of] a wide gap between 20 and 30 year olds,” Taulbee said.

In addition, DPS statistics show that drivers of all ages are usually more likely to injure themselves in an alcohol-related accident than to injure someone else, such as a passenger or the driver of another car.

Vehicle type

Vehicle type is another condition that contributes greatly to the chances of an alcohol-related incident occurring in Athens County. The data indicates that motorcycles consistently have the highest percentage of these incidents.

From 2004 to May 2009, motorcyclists have had a higher percentage of alcohol-related versus non-alcohol-related incidents, while all other vehicles’ percentages steadily remain below 10 percent. Also, the number of motorcyclists who ride under the influence has doubled from 2004 to 2008, with an increase from 3 to 6 percent, respectively.

Townships

Certain areas of Athens County seem to have more alcohol-related incidents occur than others. According to the crash database, the city of Athens has had the most alcohol-related crashes, with a total of 56 between 2004 and 2007. However, during these years, Athens City had a population of around 27,700.

Two other cities in Athens County also had many alcohol-related crashes over the course of these four years. Trimble had a total of 31 incidents while Dover had 38 total incidents. Although the populations of these cities – 4,700 and 3,800, respectively – are over five times less than that of Athens City, the number of its alcohol-related crashes is proportionally higher.

Enforcement

Organizations within Ohio have been working to help combat the occurrences of alcohol related injuries and fatalities. The study by Hedlund and McCartt claims lower enforcement of impaired driving -- “the spotlight is on aggressive driving, cell phone use, and tire defects rather than drunk driving.” However, the Ohio State Patrol has been working to prove this statement wrong.

The state highway patrol, according to Lieutenant Brian Cooper of the Athens County Sheriff’s Office, is the main enforcer of traffic violations in Athens.

“We transfer most of our traffic incidents to the State Highway Patrol, and the patrol transfers most of their crime incidents to the Sheriff’s Office,” he said.

Three-pronged approach

Scoles said MADD is in the midst of a national campaign to eliminate drunk driving. The first of their three-pronged strategy is for police to maintain and sustain high visibility law enforcement efforts. According to a 2005 Status Report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety -- an industry group that tries to reduce highway crashes -- routine checkpoints can result in a 20 percent decrease in fatal alcohol-related crashes.

Another approach taken by the state highway patrol is to teach people at a young age the consequences of drinking and driving. Programs such as mock crashes and prom promises are run at high schools statewide near the end of the school year. These programs aim to provide high school students with first-hand looks at the consequences of drinking and driving.

Technology

The second prong of MADD's national campaign is to make use of current technology to reduce drunk driving -- namely, through the use of alcohol ignition interlocks. Last year Ohio passed a law requiring such devices be put on the cars of second-time offenders that wish drive to and from work and school during their suspension. Scoles said his organization is pushing for the state to extend it to first-time convictions.

These devices feature a breathalyzer tube attached to the starter of the vehicle. Drivers must blow into the device and register an acceptable Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) level for the engine to start. Ignition interlocks can be leased for $70-$80 per month.

An IIHS evaluation of a state program in Maryland found that ignition interlocks decreased the rate of recidivism by 64 percent.

"When they first came out, there were ways around it," Scoles said. "Now, it asks for random retests, and a camera takes pictures of anyone who blows into the breathalyzer. It's so high-tech that it registers almost everything; it's 95 percent foolproof."

The final strategy of the MADD campaign is to take advantage of advanced vehicle technology on all new vehicles. Scoles pointed to devices similar to ignition interlocks that can measure BAC levels through less noticeable methods like gripping the steering wheel, putting an elbow on an arm rest or measuring eye movement. All would be tied to the starter of the vehicle and require random testing.

"We want this to be standard vehicle equipment, and we think we're about 10 years from that," Scoles said. "It still has to be refined so that it is foolproof and not intrusive to sober, safe and responsible drivers."

Repeat offenders

One of the primary problems in drunk driving accidents, according to the crash studies, is the number of drunk drivers who commit repeated violations. Scoles said that 33,000 people in Ohio have five or more convictions on their record; 147,000 have three.

While most states suspend the licenses of drunk drivers, Scoles said that statistics show that most will still drive anyway. That's why he has such hope for new technology. By giving violators their licenses conditionally, people can comply and maintain their lifestyle.

"Our mission is to stop drunk driving; we have no ulterior agenda," Scoles said. "We're not trying to outlaw alcohol, but we think we can seriously eliminate drunk driving."

(Creative Commons photo on Flickr by usag,yongsan)

Underage drinking at Ohio University

Although about half the students on Ohio University's campus are under the age of 21, you wouldn't know that by looking at Court Street on a weekend as underage students find ways around the drinking laws. This video examines the problems and talks to the people involved with the issue, striving to find a solution.

Online journalism has potential for more democratic media

Over the past decade, the Internet and its related technological advances have brought many changes to the news industry. The consumer now has more options than ever to get their news, while the media itself has additional resources to tell the story.

However, as media companies converge and consolidate, many journalists have been left to scramble for jobs. A shift to online advertising has devastated the newspaper industry. Online news sites, meanwhile, are searching for a profitable business model.

Although such chaos leaves many wondering about the future of news, former San Jose Mercury News columnist Dan Gillmor views these changes with optimism in his book, "We the media: Grassroots journalism by the people, for the people." Calling the Internet "the most important medium since the printing press," he embraces the shift from a top-down mass media into a more democratic approach to news.

Published in 2004 -- and later updated in 2006 -- the book is noticeably dated in spots, reflecting the rapidly changing media environment. However, Gillmor's objective is not to chronicle the revolution itself but rather to trumpet the potential of tomorrow's news as a conversation between all participant groups -- journalists, newsmakers and an audience that can seemingly morph into a potential army of citizen journalists.

While media critic Walter Lippmann once championed the journalist as a useful go-between in filtering news to the public, Gillmor celebrates the audience's newfound power to skip the filter, get the news themselves and participate in the process.

As one of the early pioneers in this new medium, he begins the book with a brief history in how this process began, as several technological and cultural pieces fell into place. He points to the importance of citizen journalists during the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and shows how the lines between news producers and consumers began to blur.

Technology was behind this transformation, and "We the media" examines the new tools of the trade. Some methods, such as mailing lists and forums, have fallen from the importance they once had when the book was written. However, Gillmor correctly predicted the growth of web staples such as weblogs, text messaging, RSS feeds, and wikis -- all areas that still have a way to go to achieve ubiquity.

Other tools have seen dramatic changes and, in one case, a reversal. Digital cameras have reached a quality that increases the potential for citizen journalists. Although Gillmor's idea of Internet broadcasting has had little impact, YouTube came soon after the book's release and has certainly changed multimedia content.

Gillmor seems to be a big fan of peer-to-peer networks, but this method seems to have dropped in popularity. He saw the beginnings of entertainment industry lawsuits over copyright, and their subsequent increase has limited even lawful use of this method.

Although much of his discussion focuses on how the audience has used these tools to become part of the newsgathering and dissemination process, Gillmor examines the changes from the perspective of journalists and newsmakers as well.

Instead of being afraid of the removal of the wall between reporters and their audience, Gillmor hopes journalists take advantage of the opportunities it presents.

Readers can communicate to reporters via e-mail, forums, comments and chats. If journalists pay attention, they can improve their accounts and find story ideas at the same time. In this larger conversation, they serve as the editors and moderators of this realm.

For newsmakers, the online world is one in which they must stay on their toes. Although the Internet offers them a chance to communicate directly to the masses, Gillmor offers several examples of citizen journalists uncovering blunders that the news media miss. For him, the online world is the ultimate fact-checker, ensuring a higher level of transparency. Even journalists can be held accountable for their mistakes.

Gillmor also sees great potential in the political realm. The same tools that can be used in journalism can potentially transform participation in political life. Candidates can raise money, organize campaigns and get instant feedback. In the long run, "We the media" contends "open-source politics" could lead to increased civic activity.

Although what has since been christened "Web 2.0" has great potential, Gillmor exhorts readers to watch for abuses of these new tools and preserve its existence.

With the promise of increased online freedom and a shift in power toward the people, he correctly anticipated the present battle for net neutrality. The groups that formerly controlled information, government agencies and the entertainment industry, have begun the battle to reclaim control and take advantage of the system.

The book describes how corporations have used the Internet to gather information about its users, sometimes without their knowledge. In addition to this invasion into their privacy, corporations also are attempting to control this information superhighway with little resistance from government agencies that purport to protect citizens' rights.

Not only has the telecommunication industry tried to impose controls on our present end-to-end system, but Gillmor argues that large corporations have used intellectual property laws to stifle the free exchange of ideas over the Internet.

While the author says he respects an innovator's right to compensation, he believes copyright law and digital rights management have gone too far. He urges online content producers to get organized and protect their rights. In the last couple of years, organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have done just that.

Showing that he practices what he preaches, this book was actually written under a Creative Commons arrangement, which grants increased rights to users of the material.

In the end, Gillmor concedes that the new Internet landscape is far from perfect. Unethical users can try to use technology to manipulate public opinion. Photos and videos could be doctored. Marketers will try to manipulate messages. The lack -- and sometimes absence -- of editing for blogs and online news has led to inaccuracies. However, the same online world has the potential to expose these schemes or mistakes.

With this in mind, he explains how the new environment of citizen journalism will need to develop its own set of values concerning fairness, accuracy and ethics. With such a vast online world, readers need some type of system to evaluate the trustworthiness of information on the Internet. Gillmor describes several other ethical issues that still need to be worked out as well.

In the end, We the media is neither a history or a guide to Internet journalism. Instead, in a well-crafted narrative, Gillmor takes the reader through a logical progression, from where we've been to where we could be going.

These days, any book on technology will likely be somewhat outdated by the time it is published. However, Gillmor's prescription for grassroots journalism holds true. If we stay on the right track, he feels we will be better off with a democratic online media.

Webby Awards

If you want to do good work on the Internet, you need to see good work on the Internet.

Every year The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences hands out its Webby Awards to honor excellence on the Internet. The range of winners is wide as the variety of web pages. Check them out!

Blogging gone wild

While blogs offer writers a viable avenue to let others know what they think and feel, they also have their darker side.

In an essay in Sunday's New York Times magazine, writer Emily Gould talks about how blogging can open a window to one's personal life that can be hard to shut. Although her personal blog earned her a shot at writing for the popular Gawker site, she later found that blogging about her own life -- and writing gossip about the lives of others -- soon made her the target.

Everyone seemingly wants to be heard, but sometimes the response can be unkind. In a simpler age, people would have to actually take the time to write letters to the editor or talk to someone over the phone. However, in today's Internet world, hurtful comments can be delivered quickly and anonymously.

I don't know much about Gould, but she appears to be a lightning rod for online blogs and comments. When I searched for her photo, I found that this story itself put her further in the crosshairs -- although her detractors say she has earned it.

Either way, it's sad.

Online Travel Blog

As someone who has never left the North American continent, I have a always been a sucker for travel stories. Not those stuffy ones that use only the highest priced accommodations, but quirky travel stories geared toward the average person.

In the past, this has meant newspaper travel sections or travel magazines. Of course, if I were looking for specific information, I could always find it online. Recently, however, I have become a fan of the travel blog.

The New York Time's Frugal Traveler, Matt Grose, recently began his "Grand Tour," a 12-week journey around Europe in which he is bound to spend less than 100 Euros a day. Last year, he took a similar journey across the United States.

All in all, it's like getting daily postcards from a friend discussing where they've gone and what they've done. The blog is updated with new entries and videos every Thursday and short updates and frugal tips throughout the week. Interestingly, Grose's photos are geotagged, which means his camera automatically stamps the latitude and longitude of where they were taken so they can be incorporated into a map. In his previous U.S. journey, the Frugal Traveler employed GPS tracking.

Think of it like the Travel Channel except with more interaction, almost like you're along for the trip. Readers see each stop along the way and are able to leave comments on it. In one of his first updates, Grose revealed what he packed -- including his reporting supplies (pictured). He admits to being unsure about what to bring along and this started a long reader discussion.

From the looks of it, the blog has a large number of loyal readers. In a multi-stage trip like this, people will keep coming back and perhaps visit the other Times' stories, too.

Remaking Nelsonville

Over the years, the economic health of Nelsonville, Ohio, has depended upon a few main industries. Coal mining, brick making, a power plant, Rocky Boots (now Rocky Outdoor Gear) -- each has played its part in supporting the town. In recent years, with no big industry to carry it, Nelsonville -- and its downtown -- has struggled. Over the past few years, a few local artists and merchants have tried to remake the town as an arts community. Although they have had some success, the present state of the economy has hindered their efforts to create a thriving public square.

Link to slideshow