Task force work continues
MINERAL COUNTY – Mineral County Commissioners were busy last week at their annual meeting passing several measures including one that will maintain an organization devoted to keeping Mineral County residents safe from those who make bad choices behind the wheel.
The continuation of the Mineral County DUI Task Force was approved last week by county commissioners as part of an effort to promote a healthy and safe environment for the public and to raise awareness of the dangers of driving under the influence. Through a combination of education, enforcement and legislation, the DUI Task Force works to reduce the number of alcohol-related traffic accidents.
According to the Mineral County DUI Task Force Program Plan, alcohol plays a role in approximately 10 percent of all traffic accidents, approximately 20 percent of all injuries and almost 50 percent of fatalities on Montana roads. While there has been a decrease in recent years, Montana has historically had one of the highest alcohol-related fatality rates in the nation.
The plan further states in Montana, almost 40 percent of those tested after a fatal accident had a blood alcohol concentration greater than 0.00. In 2014, there were 237 reported traffic accidents with 4 fatalities and 74 injuries. There were 40 DUI arrests in Mineral County.
The task force was formed in 1987 with the goal of preventing driving while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, reducing the number of alcohol related traffic accidents and educating the public on the dangers of driving after consuming alcoholic beverages or other chemical substances that impair motor functions and impair judgement.
Mineral County Commissioner Laurie Johnston said the renewal of the program was standard for the commissioners every year.
“Every year, the DUI Task Force has to come up with a plan and so this was their plan for 2016,” Johnston said. “It’s the same as last year so we signed off on that.”
According to information in the plan, it’s not just adults who are driving while impaired and abusing alcohol. In 2014, Montana was among the states with the highest rates of youth consumption of alcohol and the highest rates of binge drinking among underage residents. For every 100,000 people in the state of Montana, 3.8 underage residents were killed in drunk driving accidents. That rate is the second highest in the country.
Approximately 20 percent of minors reported they had engaged in binge drinking over the prior 30 days. In total, 19.2 percent of Montana residents reported they had engaged in binge drinking during the month studied.
The DUI Task Force Program Plan indicated several areas of emphasis. One was focused on impaired driving. The plan states, “effective reduction of impaired driving involves a combination of effective laws that allow law enforcement to detect and arrest offenders. This must be followed up with effective prosecution and sentencing of offenders. To make progress in this area culture change is needed to make driving while impaired less socially acceptable. Given the involvement and interest by multiple key stakeholders on the Mineral County DUI Task Force, a real opportunity for increased partnerships, improved communication and enhanced detection and prosecution exists for Mineral County.”
Another area of emphasis was focused on underage drinking prevention and education. The plan mentioned the Elevate Youth Coalition as a strong ally in the fight to reduce underage consumption of drugs and/or alcohol. The coalition is a multi-county organization of students from local schools who work to raise awareness of the dangers of underage drinking.
The task force has also been asked to sit on another community organization. The Mineral County Community Coalition is a group of “community minded entities joining together to share information and resources, update one another on activities and work toward common goals.”
Proposed task force activities for 2015 include providing scholarships for local high school seniors, compliance checks of alcohol retailers, a rotating billboard campaign, development of trained media advocates in each county, partnership with drug free community/Elevate Youth Coalition and work on “shared messaging.” Other proposed activities include DUI information collection and tracking, Red Ribbon Week activities and work to strengthen community relationships with retailers who provide alcohol and provide training.
Members of the Mineral County DUI Task Force include residents from the education sector, business sector, government, law enforcement, the faith based community and other community stakeholders.