Driving Laws, DUI and Crime on the Road

New Drug Recognition Expert Will Also Deal With Drugged Drivers

ST ALBANS, VT, SEPT. 2, 2008: With nearly four full months left in 2008, the Vermont State Police based at the St. Albans Barracks are quickly approaching 150 arrests for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) this year in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties. Now the State Police are teaming up with local underage and high-risk drinking prevention advocates to turn the tables on this trend.

On Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008, at 2 p.m., at the St. Albans Vermont State Police Barracks, members of the Franklin/Grand Isle Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) Learning Community will announce a collaboration with the Vermont State Police to better inform motorists about the dangers around drunk driving and the toll this irresponsible action takes on the general public.

The Franklin/Grand Isle SPF Learning Community, as part of its strategic plan to deal with underage and high-risk alcohol consumption in northwest Vermont, has appropriated $30,000 to the St. Albans Barracks of the Vermont State Police to put officers on the roads of Franklin and Grand Isle Counties specifically to perform DUI-related patrols and inform motorists about the dangers of DUI. This money will also be used to fund DUI checkpoints in northwest Vermont between now and August 2009.

“DUI is a major issue on the roads of Northwest Vermont, and has been for quite some time now,” said Ethan Dezotelle, Director of the Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union’s (FNESU) SPF State Incentive Grant. “In 2006, which is the year we have the most recent numbers for, we had the greatest number of DUI-related fatalities in the state. And if numbers continue to track the way they have so far this year, the State Police will see their numbers surpass those from 2007. That’s a frightening number when you consider that those are only the ones getting caught. There are many more drunk drivers out there who are not caught. This funding we’re providing to the State Police will go a long way toward educating drivers and reducing the number of DUIs on the road.”

The partnership between the SPF Learning Community and the Vermont State Police comes at a time when the St. Albans Barracks has also gained a new DUI resource via the training of DUI officer Jay Riggen as a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE). As a DRE, Riggen is now one of a dozen officers in the state trained to recognize drivers operating under the influence of drugs, in addition to or instead of alcohol.

“The collaborative effort between the Vermont Department of Health and the State Police is a common sense approach to a serious problem we are experiencing here in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties,” St. Albans VSP Lt. Robert Evans said. “This funding will significantly increase the number of hours that we have available to detect and apprehend drunk drivers.  In addition, we hope to continue our public awareness campaign against drunk driving, and we look forward to providing the Department of Health with the critical data they need so that they can put together future prevention programs.”

FNESU SPF Director Ethan Dezotelle, Franklin County SPF Director Mary Fletcher, Grand Isle County SPF Director Heather Luce, Vermont Department of Health Substance Abuse Prevention Consultant, and SPF State Administrator Lori Tatsapaugh Uerz, MPH, will be on hand at the press conference to

address the goals of SPF and the SPF Strategic Plan for Franklin and Grand Isle Counties.

VSP  Lt. Robert Evans and Trooper Jay Riggen will be on hand at the press conference to address both SPF funding and the DRE program.
Franklin / Grand Isle Strategic Prevention Framework
VERMONT STATE POLICE/VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:Ethan Dezotelle
Strategic Prevention Framework Director
Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union
933-4375
edezotelle@fnesu.net
For more information about the Strategic Prevention Framework, please contact Ethan Dezotelle at 933-4375 or edezotelle@fnesu.net. For more information about the DRE program, please contact VSP Lt. John Flannigan at 872-4048 or jflannig@dps.state.vt.us.
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Drunk Driving Laws, Penalties & Fines in Vermont