by HM1 Alvin Grant, USN

Hardcore drunk drivers can be defined as individuals who drive with high blood alcohol concentrations (BAC's) of .15 or above. They do so repeatedly, as demonstrated by having more than one drunk driving arrest, and are extremely resistant to changing their behavior, despite previous sanctions, jail, treatment, education or disciplinary efforts.

Terms like "subsequent offender," "problem drinker/driver" and "unfit/unsafe driver" are definitions used to alter the true perception of the drunk. A drunk under the influence never becomes a felon without involving some fatal or serious injury. They know the law, because to manipulate any system, you must understand how it works.

Intoxicated driving is incompatible with the maintenance of high standards of performance, military discipline, personnel reliability, and readiness. Any person who engages in intoxicated driving, regardless of the geographic location of the incident, has demonstrated a serious disregard for the safety of themselves and others.

There are approximately 3.3 million licensed drivers and the average BAC level of offenders arrested is approximately .17, well above the national BAC limit of .08. A Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is the percentage by weight, of alcohol in a person's blood as determined by blood, urine, or breath analysis. Percent of weight by volume of alcohol in the blood is based on grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.

Suspension of driving privileges is mandatory based upon an arrest report or other official documentation of the circumstances of an apprehension for intoxicated driving. On government installations the legal BAC limit is .05. However, keep in mind, there is zero tolerance for alcohol abuse at all times. If an individual refuses to submit to a lawfully requested BAC test, when there has been a conviction, nonjudicial punishment, or civilian revocation or suspension of driving privileges for intoxicated driving, regardless of any prior administrative determination; suspension of base driving privileges for one year is mandatory.

Did you know that it is your responsibility to notify your command of any DUI or DWI within 24 hours? This is in your best interest. We are here to assist in education and to help get the free medical treatment you require for your level of abuse. For those individuals who have received multiple DUI/DWI citations and or convictions, your original one-year suspension may be increased by two years after a hearing. Exceptions to the mandatory suspension provisions may be granted under regulations concerned on a case-by-case basis. Such exceptions may be granted only on the basis of mission requirements, unusual personal or family hardship or with respect to a person who has no reasonably available alternate means of transportation to officially assigned duties. A limited exception shall be granted for the sole purpose of driving directly to and from such duties. This does not authorize the person to drive on a military installation, but allows for exceptional situations where public transportation, carpool, and taxi services are unavailable.

There are several enforcement techniques used to detect and apprehend drunk drivers, but some drunk or drugged drivers may appear to never get caught. Sobriety checkpoints, blanket patrols, enforcement blitzes with media campaigns, standardized field sobriety testing, and mobile video-taping all provide the sooner or later apprehension of all drunk or drugged drivers.