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Officers work overtime to nab drunk drivers Local departments have federal grant money for drunken-driving patrols By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Distributor hands out blood alcohol test strips In lieu of business cards, Steve Lytle has been handing out pocket-sized devices that allow merry-makers to determine themselves if they've had too much to drink. As president of Gold River Distributing - a Medford-based beer and wine wholesaler - Lytle said he wants to promote safety this holiday season. Guardian Angel Personal Alcohol Tests contain two sealed strips that measure blood alcohol level through saliva when placed on the tongue. Like a piece of litmus paper, the strip's color matches a graph that shows a driver's risk for getting in a crash. "Hey, this is not a tool to drink to the illogical limit," Lytle said. "This is a tool to be used to make all of us a little more responsible this holiday season." The product's packaging lists an 800 number for taxi cab services nationwide. Lytle is handing the strips out to employees and others he meets in business dealings as part of Gold River's "Responsibility Never Takes a Holiday" campaign, which also includes radio and television public service announcements about the dangers of drinking and driving. The company is considering offering the strips for sale next year, he said. The valley's Minute Market stores sell the strips for 99 cents per pack and expected to receive a fresh shipment for the holidays, an employee said. Guardian Angel Products said the strips have been tested for reliability in laboratories. But they probably wouldn't hold much scientific weight in court, police said. "If they use them as a little friendly advice to not drive, that's cool," said Medford police Lt. Mike Moran. For some, the holidays may be an excuse to indulge in a little more alcohol than usual. For police, it's an opportunity to write more tickets and make more arrests for driving under the influence. "Our sympathy tanks are on empty for drunk drivers," said Medford police Lt. Tim George. Arrests and tickets issued for driving under the influence of intoxicants are up slightly this year in the city of Medford and in Jackson County. Medford police arrests and citations are up 4 percent from last year. Officers arrested or ticketed 540 drunk or drugged drivers through November, and George estimated the number should top 600 by the end of the year. Last year's arrests and citations totaled 568, he said. Police aren't "trying to throw water on people's celebration," he said. But arresting drunken drivers prevents traffic accidents resulting in death or serious injuries, and that justifies increased patrols during the holidays. Officers can sign up for four to six hours of extra patrol time, paid by a federal grant for DUII enforcement. In October of this year, Medford police received $10,000 in federal money distributed through the Oregon Department of Transportation. The same amount of money was awarded in October 2000. If the department's traffic statistics mean anything, the grants are allowing officers to pull more drunk drivers off the roads, George said. Last year there were four fatal accidents in the city of Medford. This year, there has been only one, but it involved a driver who told police he had smoked marijuana prior to driving. Injury accidents in Medford are down by a little over 12 percent this year; property damage accidents decreased by nearly 9 percent and total traffic accidents dropped by 9.3 percent in 2001, according to Medford Police Department statistics. For Jackson County deputies, DUII citations and arrests were up to 203 this year from 129 last year through Dec. 13. The Sheriff's Department received $11,000 in federal grants this year to pay for DUII enforcement in 2002, and has $17,000 in seat belt enforcement dollars. The Medford Police Department received $10,000 to enforce seat belt laws. The Oregon State Police, however, is taking federal DUII enforcement money out of Jackson County next year. The dollars are usually divided equally among the Southwest Region's seven counties. But a high number of DUII-related traffic accidents in the Douglas County and Klamath Falls areas prompted OSP Lt. Gordon Renskers to put the money where it was most needed. OSP patrols out of the Central Point, office, however, still have 100 hours of paid overtime to nab drunk drivers. The state's OSP Southwest Region received $17,000 this year to pay for DUII enforcement and $43,000 to make sure drivers are wearing their seat belts. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.