---
6A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OUI
THURSDAY, MAY 4. 2006
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5A
Switzer avoids getting drunk when he goes out because his one-year unsupervised probation requires a spotless criminal record. That means no fights, no drugs, no buying alcohol for minors, no drinking and driving, no stealing, or any other minor offense.
"Any time there could be police involved, I want to not be involved," he said, explaining that he stays away from rowdy house parties most of the time.
Both of Switzer's roommates have also had past OUIs, so they help him out with rides. Five
Schongar said that he still goes out and drinks, but never drives afterward. He works as a bartender at Fatso's, 1016 Massachusetts St., and lives within blocks of downtown.
or six months before he lost his license, his roommate Scott got his back. Switzer drove him around, so now Scott is reciprocating. He said family and friends who in the beginning offered him rides are becoming "annoyed" six months later.
"I walk when
His parents were glad he wasn't hurt, discouraged him from continuing to drink, and have refused to help him buy another car when his yearlong license suspension ends.
ever I go and if I can't, I stay there," he said.
Schongar said because he paid for his OUI by himself, he and his parents are on good terms. They recognize it as a mistake, and he proved that he could handle it on his own.
outpatient counseling.
He said he offers himself as an example of why his friends shouldn't drink and drive.
Psychology and treatment
"The alcohol is more important than something else in their life," he said about such binge drinkers, who are more likely to be males than females partially because of peer pressure.
lack said, "They usually think they
Although 83 KU students were busted for driving drunk last year, many more did it without ticket or injury, according to Lawrence alcohol counselor Scott Black.
Black said. They usually think they are fine. That's 50 percent of the cases I run into. Switzer said he hasn't given up drinking. He tried to be sober for a few weeks, and proudly told his counselor he'd made it, only to find out true sobriety takes at least six months. Discouraged by staying home much of the time by himself, and by his friends' lack of support, he decided to go out again, and that he can't go out without drinking. "It's just not me," he said.
"We know there are about 400 DUIs a month," Black said. "There should be 10,000. They've all done it before. They just got caught now."
Black said women get drunk faster because they don't have as strong a stomach lining, so alcohol goes more quickly to their bloodstream and brain. For men, it takes longer, which can ultimately be worse because they can drink much more.
Those who get caught spend time with counselors like Black. A first-time OUI offender with no criminal record usually attends an eight-hour alcohol education class after an alcohol evaluation. Those with alcohol abuse problems face extensive
By the time Swiss took the breathalizer, his blood alcohol was at .196, way over the .08
legal limit. His alcohol counsel told him later he should not have been able to even walk out the door and get in his car to drive home that night, much less be making good decisions
about driving
driving.
"I wasn't con-cerned about my ability to drive home," he said, because he'd done it so many times before. He said
hard to concentrate and be attentive by turning off the radio and gripping the wheel at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock.
Switzer said he hasn't given up drinking. He tried to be sober for a few weeks, and proudly told his counselor he'd made it, only to find out true sobriety takes at least six months.
Black said, "They usually think they are fine. That's 50 percent of the cases I run into."
That was what happened to Schongar. He'd been at a Phi Kappa Theta fraternity party drinking beer and hard liquor but lost track of how much. After the party, he was supposed to follow another car to his friend's place at Highpointe. Somewhere along the way, he got lost and ended up about a mile away, where he had driven up on the curb, and then passed out.
Discouraged by staying home much of the time by himself, and by his friends' lack of support, he said he decided to go out again, and that he can't go out without drinking.
"It's just not me," he said.
People who binge drink black out, make bad decisions and often get into trouble.
He said he remembered bits and pieces of failing his field sobriety test when the cop got there, and then sobered up in jail waiting to take the breathalizer.
"This is all speculation," he said. "I don't remember too much of that night."
Switzer survived his wreck with few scratches and Schongar got lucky and avoided hitting anything, but others were not so fortunate. According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, 116 died in alcohol-related automobile accidents in 2004.
Danger and prevention
When that happens, an OUI offender can end up in prison for years if someone dies because the driver was drunk.
The worst was when he was coroner for Linn County. A young woman drove home from a bar drunk, didn't make a curve in the road, and her car went airborne over a barbed-wire fence and into a field. In midair, she was thrown from the vehicle and it landed on top of her, killing her instantly.
Jerry Little, city prosecutor, said if a drunken driver has an accident that kills someone, he would be charged with either voluntary or involuntary manslaughter.
Hunt said when he stood above her looking down, her face looked almost normal, but when he bent over and looked at her from the side, he saw her head had been squashed to two inches thick and her brain was living next to her in the grass.
"Rarely do people who are drinking put on their seat belt," Hunt said.
Brian Hunt, one of Lawrence Memorial Hospital's emergency room doctors, has seen and treated many injuries from drunken driving.
Because intoxicated people can't think clearly when deciding whether to drink and drive, Scott Black, the alcohol counselor, suggests finding a signal that can trigger your memory about the hazards of an OUI. One of his patients put an orange flashing light on her steering wheel that said "DUI" so that when she got in the car, she would see it and remember not to drive.
Her death might have been prevented had she been sober or wearing a seat belt.
Neither Switzerland nor Chongar have stopped drinking, but both say they have found a middle ground: drink, but don't drive. In the end, drunken driving ofenders suffer losses far beyond the expected ticket and court costs.
— the wrecked cars, the $2,000 to $4,000 in fines, lawyer costs, diversion fees and towing, the limited social life, the higher insurance premiums, the night in jail — could have been avoided by finding a sober ride home.
Adding it all up
Switzer and Schongar learned the lesson that all of it
Edited by Frank Tankard
CALL IT SAFE
KU STUDENTS WHO HAVE NO SOBER DRIVER CAN CALL SAFE RIDE AT 864-SAFE. It's free and runs an time the University is in session, including summer. During the school year, it runs every day from 10:30 p.m.to 3 a.m., and during the summer, it runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the same times.
SAFE RIDE IS BUSY, MIDWEST TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, 842-TAXI, IS ALSO AVAILABLE. The only taxi service
in town, it is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year except for Christmas. The company charges a $9 flat rate for anywhere within the city limits for one person, and $2 for each additional person.
the names of convicted drunk drivers are published in the local newspapers under the heading "Drunk and In Jail".
OTHER COUNTRIES' PENALTIES
Southen drivers are given 10-year prison terms, a fine of $10,000 or both, depending on the circumstances.
South Africa
Australia
Drunken drivers are taken 20 miles out of town by the police and are forced to walk back under escort.
Turkey
The drunken driver is jailed. If he is man- died, his wife is jailed with him.
Malaysia
Norway
Three weeks in jail doing hard labor plus loss of license for one year. A second offense means permanent revocation of license.
Norway
England
One year in jail, one year suspension of license and a fine of $250
Russia Driver's license is revoked for life.
Russia
One year in jail, loss of license for three
years and a fine of $1,000
France
Poland Jail and fine determined by the judge. All drunken drivers are forced to listen to a set of lectures on the effects of drunk driving on families and community.
Poland
A second conviction of drunken driving is the last. The punishment is execution.
El Salvador First offense drunken drivers are executed by a firing squad.
EL Salvador
Bulgaria
Source: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
STATE
House says no to sex offender bill
BY CARL MANNING ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
TOPEKA - A compromise version of a politically popular measure to strengthen penalties for child molesters and other sex offenders was shot down Wednesday by House members who disapproved of it being tied to a proposal to allow private prisons in Kansas.
As a compromise bill, each chamber had to accept or reject it without making changes.
The House last year refused to debate the issue of private prisons and did not take it up this year.
Senators previously approved a private prison bill but later insisted it be bundled with the tougher penalties for child molesters, known as "Jessica's Law."
The 74-49 vote sent the measure back to House-Senate negotiators with an eye toward dividing the two issues so they can be voted on separately. The Senate approved the bundled bill Tuesday by a 33-7 margin.
"We'll go back to conference and ask them to strip private prisons out," said Rep. Mike O'Neal, his chamber's lead negotiator.
Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt said his chamber stands firm.
"The Senate position is they need to be a packaged deal," said Schmidt, R-Independence.
As for private prisons doubling justice Law, Schmidt said, "That would be a terrible outcome. That's why we need to reach agreement on enacting both pieces."
"You can pass the policy but not build the beds which would be irresponsible," said O'Neal, R-Hutchinson.
Senators argue the two should be tied because Jessica's Law will result in more people imprisoned and private prisons will be an option the state could consider rather than building its own facilities.
Leading the opposition was Rep. Kenny Wilk, R-Lansing, who said, "They're trying to force-feed us. The House wants a clean vote on Jessica's Law."
Center
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Burton also worries about homeless having drugs and alcohol near children in the area.
The current location is not big enough to hold all the activities the Salvation Army wants to offer, Wesley Dalberg, pastor and administrator of the Salvation Army, said. The current Salvation Army location, 946 New Hampshire, is 50 years old. Dalberg said the facility was inadequate, such as not having handicapped parking spaces available. The current building will not be retained at all by the Salvation Army and will be sold.
The site plan for the new location was approved in May 2004 and an extension was made in May 2005. The Salvation Army has been continuing its efforts to fundraise.
"We can't start digging a hole in the ground until we have all the money," Richard Zinn, member of the Salvation Army advisory board, said at the meeting.
The new location is also easily accessible by public transportation. He noted that they prefer to build in a residential neighborhood because they are trying to reach other people, not just the homeless.
Approving the new site plan with the new points will appear on the city commission agenda at any time now. However, city commission meetings will not be held May 23 or May 30.
Edited by Meghan Miller
Roommates stuck to the couch?
Kansan Classifieds
· Find them a job.· Find new roommates.· Sell the couch.
Celebrate Our 10th Anniversary With Us On May 7th! Here's to Another 10 Great Years!
Sylas & Maddy's
Single dip cake sugar cones $1.00
A Lawrence original since 1996
1014 Massachusetts
Come try these favorites
• Hawk Tracks
• Rock Chalk Jayhawk
• Da' Bomb
• Peanut Butter Freak
Single dip waffle cones
$1.50
Open May 7th 12:30-9:30