Drunken Drivers

Drunken-driving accident fatalities have been on the rise in Maryland. In 2009, 162 people lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes, a sharp increase from the year before. But time and time again, a key committee in the Maryland General Assembly has refused to support an effective prevention measure that has worked well in other states. This year could be different. The House Judiciary Committee is holding hearings this week to consider legislation intended to expand the use of ignition interlock devices that force drivers to prove their sobriety by blowing into a breathalyzer — both to start the vehicle and at periodic intervals while driving.

Several hundred Baltimore and state police officers will be saturating the city's bar districts this St. Patrick's Day weekend, looking for drunken drivers and people drinking in the streets, law enforcement officials announced Thursday. "Roadways in and around Baltimore will be heavily patrolled," Baltimore police patrol commander Col. Garnell Green said. "Plan ahead. Have a designated driver. Know where you're going to park and expect large crowds. " Maryland Transportation Administration Police and Maryland State Police are teaming with city officers on a crackdown of rowdy behavior that plagued Canton Square last year, when residents complained of scores of people drinking openly outside bars, breaking glass and leaving trash strewn all around.

Police departments across the state are embarking on a public awareness campaign to reduce drunken driving: roadside banners warning motorists they are in areas known for "saturation patrols." "When motorists see the `Drunk Driving Enforcement Zone' banners, they can be sure police are in that area looking for drunk drivers," Maryland State Police said in a statement. "Police will continue to employ various enforcement techniques, all with the ultimate goal of removing drunk drivers from Maryland highways before they cause a traffic crash."

Two state troopers were injured on the side of Interstate 95 in Laurel early Friday morning when their patrol car was struck by another vehicle being driven by a drunken driver, Maryland State Police said. Shortly after midnight, troopers Manuel Moreno, 42, and John Cabrera, 34, had just activated flares warning oncoming traffic of an unrelated accident on the highway near Sandy Springs Road when they returned to their patrol car - which had its lights flashing - to complete paperwork.

WASHINGTON -- Federal and state traffic safety officials started a nationwide crackdown on drunken driving yesterday, saying previous efforts had not done enough to reduce deaths caused by impaired drivers. Drunken drivers accounted for about 13,000 deaths in traffic accidents last year. The crackdown could face resistance from a growing industry devoted to defending people arrested on drunken-driving charges. The groups contend that overzealous police have inflated the problem out of proportion, trampling rights in the process.

Drunken drivers in Baltimore County who have at least three convictions are to be targeted for special attention, including surveillance, by county police DWI Task Force officers, according to an announcement by county police today.The new effort, which begins immediately, initially will target 39 county drivers who have at least three convictions for drunken driving, out of 3,500 who have been arrested in the county more than once for driving while intoxicated since 1986, police said.The 10 task force officers already mount special patrols on highways with statistically high numbers of drunken-driving arrests or accidents.

Here's a classic good news-bad news study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: It appears that more than three decades of strong anti-drunken driving messages and stronger enforcement are having some impact. In a 2007 survey, NHTSA found that the percentage of drivers on weekend nights who have a blood-alcohol level higher than the prevailing national limit of .08 percent has fallen to 2.2 percent. It's still pretty scary that one in 50 drivers on the road is drunk at those times, but that's an improvement from the downright terrifying 7.5 percent that prevailed in 1973, when the first such survey was taken.

Baltimore County's on-again, off-again prison for drunken drivers is on again. Officials hope it will open by fall.After several months of uncertainty over the partnership running Right Turn of Maryland Inc., which has a five-year contract to operate the Owings Mills center, Charles C. Powell has assumed full control of the private company.Mr. Powell said he plans to start hiring employees this week. He said he wants to get into operation as quickly as possible and hopes to open by September.

Baltimore County's on-again, off-again prison for drunken drivers is on again. Officials hope it will open by fall.After several months of uncertainty over the partnership running Right Turn of Maryland Inc., which has a five-year contract to operate the Owings Mills center, Charles C. Powell has assumed full control of the private company.Mr. Powell said he plans to start hiring employees this week. He said he wants to get into operation as quickly as possible and hopes to open by September.

If you were to watch Margaret Wason rambling through the County Courthouse, you'd easily mistake her for a well-known lawyer.As Wasonwalks the courthouse corridor, she chats with clerks, consults with prosecutors and sometimes directs defendants, victims and jurors to courtrooms.But the 46-year-old Bel Air resident is no lawyer. Just a woman very dedicated to a cause: getting and keeping drunken drivers off thecounty's roads.For nearly two years, Wason has been volunteeringtime to monitor cases involving drunken drivers in the county courtsfor a local Mothers Against Drunk Driving group.

Your recent editorial expressed the view that "the ban on grocery store sales of alcohol has one purpose - preventing competition, to the benefit of existing retailers and to the detriment of consumers" ("Liquor and capitalism," May 14). Yet it also has the effect of de-emphasizing liquor to families shopping for food with hard-earned dollars. All the dollars, time and effort devoted to learning about, tasting, shipping, buying and imbibing alcohol may someday be directed toward more important things, such as wholesome food, good conversation, outdoor activities and the arts - and even reading newspapers.

Anne Arundel County police will target drunken drivers with increased patrols starting Black Friday and running through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Police said that officers will be assigned specifically to drunk-driving enforcement, police said. They will focus on roads around the county where drunk-driving crashes and arrests have taken place in the past, though police did not indicate any specific roads or intersections. andrea.siegel@baltsun.com Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

A driver with a blood-alcohol level measured at twice the legal limit after his speeding car killed two pedestrians and struck another car on the shoulder of Interstate 70 was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison. Baltimore County Circuit Judge Patrick Cavanaugh, who presided over a bench trial, found Donneil Raeburn, 27, guilty in April of two counts of manslaughter. On Tuesday, Cavanaugh imposed the maximum sentence, 10 years for each victim, and ordered that the terms be served consecutively.

Ravens running back Ray Rice said he never intended to disrespect Hines Ward when he commented about the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver's DUI arrest a week ago, but he still stands by his remarks. On Rice's Twitter account, he posted that Ward's drunken-driving charge was "not a good look" and predicted that he would be suspended for the season opener against the Ravens. "People look up to you, Hines," said Rice, who is hosting a football camp at Towson University this week.

A Harford County deputy was injured early Wednesday when his patrol vehicle was struck by a suspected drunken driver in Edgewood, according to the sheriff's office. The driver, 21-year-old Kevin G. Johnstone of Edgewood, faces charges including driving under the influence, failure to control speed and reckless and negligent driving, the sheriff's office said. According to a spokeswoman for the agency, Johnstone was traveling west in a 2006 Nissan 350Z on Pulaski Highway and lost control of the vehicle about 2:30 a.m. when he tried to make a right turn onto Mountain Road.

Lawmakers are moving forward with two starkly different versions of legislation intended to increase the use of ignition interlock devices for convicted drunken drivers, setting up a possible impasse over a final bill. The Senate gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a bill that would require the devices for all convicted of drunken driving. The bill is supported by MADD Maryland and other highway safety advocates. The House took the same step Wednesday with legislation supported by the liquor lobby that would narrow use of the devices to repeat offenders, those under 21 and drivers with a blood-alcohol content of 0.15 percent.

In the moments following her son's death in a drunken-driving accident, Shirley Johnson and her husband stood in front of their closets and wondered what to wear."

MADD can be maddening. In a legislative fight, advocates from Mothers against Drunk Driving don't always play by Annapolis rules. This has been a source of immense frustration to the Democratic leadership of the House of Delegates. While the Senate threw off the influence of the liquor industry last year and voted overwhelmingly for a tough, MADD-backed bill requiring the installation of ignition interlock devices on the vehicles of all convicted drunken drivers, House leaders balked and the bill died.

Drunken-driving accident fatalities have been on the rise in Maryland. In 2009, 162 people lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes, a sharp increase from the year before. But time and time again, a key committee in the Maryland General Assembly has refused to support an effective prevention measure that has worked well in other states. This year could be different. The House Judiciary Committee is holding hearings this week to consider legislation intended to expand the use of ignition interlock devices that force drivers to prove their sobriety by blowing into a breathalyzer — both to start the vehicle and at periodic intervals while driving.