MINERSVILLE - The statistics dealing with drinking and driving and the related fatalities in Schuylkill County and Pennsylvania are sobering - facts that Minersville police Chief Michael Combs is much concerned about.
A 25-year veteran of the Allentown Police Department and Minersville police chief for the past 2 1/2 years, Combs began doing research on the subject of DUI this past Memorial Day.
"During each Memorial Day service, we recognize any citizens or police officers worthy of commendation," Combs said. "This past year, one of our officers, Jason Klouser, had 21 DUI arrests in 2011, so he received a commendation for his DUI work."
In the process of getting his presentation together for Klouser's commendation, Combs did research on the subject of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Klouser's arrests are part of the overall 37 DUI arrests in 2011 by Minersville force, which includes five full-time and 12 part-time police officers. The borough had 24/7 police coverage.
"It is a big problem here in Schuylkill County, and some of the statistics we found were very interesting," Combs said. "Nearly 18.3 percent of county residents qualify as 'binge drinkers,' which is higher than the state average of 15 percent and fourth highest among the state's 67 counties."
The three counties with the highest rates of binge drinkers are Cumberland, Perry and Bucks counties. The statistics come from a national survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Combs said the average blood alcohol count for someone arrested for DUI in the county is also a major concern.
"The average blood alcohol content for a DUI offender in Schuylkill County is 0.17 percent, higher than the state and national averages," he said. "And considering that 'drunk' under Pennsylvania law is 0.08 percent, we're more than twice as high.
"It's not someone stopping after work and having a beer or two and then going home. When you start getting up to this kind of percentage, that's the major concern," Combs said. "The main message behind this is when people are drinking like this and driving, people get killed, and that's the big issue. In the U.S., one person is killed every 39 minutes by a drunk driver. Pennsylvania is one of the top five states with the highest number of states with alcohol-related deaths. In 2010, there were 459 fatalities that involved alcohol in Pennsylvania, and 50 percent of all death in the 21 to 25 age range were from drinking drivers. That's a lot of heartache for people."
The use of alcohol begins young, according to Combs, citing statistics that nearly two out of three eighth-graders said they consumed alcohol at least once, making it much higher than the national average of one in two eighth-graders having tried alcohol.
Combs said the statistics show that alcohol-related deaths have been declining throughout the state and the country, and a major reason for the decrease is greater enforcement. The state police said that 2010 was the ninth consecutive year with an increase in DUI arrests.
"Research shows there are several reasons for this decrease and one of them is because police officers have been stepping up enforcement of driving under the influence laws," Combs said.
According to reports by John Morgan, sobriety checkpoint coordinator for the North Central Highway Safety Network, two roving DUI patrols in June resulted in the arrests of drivers under the influence. On June 8, 29 vehicles were stopped and three drivers were tested for DUI, resulting in two adult DUI arrests and two underage drinking arrests. On June 9, 24 vehicles were detained, with three drivers tested for DUI, leading to one adult DUI arrest.
According to NCHSN, there were 19 fatalities on Schuylkill County roads in 2011, with five involving alcohol-related crashes. In 2009, 11 of 30 fatalities were involving alcohol-related crashes in the county.
"The Minersville Police Department is proud to be a part of this effort of DUI enforcement and we hope these measures will prevent someone else from experiencing the heartache of losing a loved one because of a DUI. There has been a reduction in the amount of alcohol-related deaths because of the increased enforcement. And in the past decade or so, people have become more aware and have a designated driver, which is something no one heard about 20 years ago. There is more awareness of it, and that's a good thing. And there are the increased penalties. You are going to pay a price if caught and convicted. You're going to lose your license and pay a hefty fine. It will affect your family and employment."
He added, "I think the combination of education and enforcement has helped us bring this down, but it's still very high."
Combs is trying to get the message out that drinking and driving affects the impaired driver and those around him, not only on the road but in the family, at work and with friends.
"It's not that you're taking this risk just on yourself, you're putting everyone else at risk, and that's one of the reasons we're pushing so hard on DUI arrests," Combs said. "We're cracking down on that."