Driving under the influence continues to impact the Tri-County (Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties) area in both human and economic terms. During a recent three-year period, alcohol-related crashes cost Tri-County taxpayers and the insurance industry approximately $39 million. In the same period, 44 people died in the Tri-County area from alcohol-related crashes; 1,770 were injured in these crashes.

Alcohol-related crashes are the number one killer of South Carolinians between the ages of 15 and 24. This age group continues to be over represented in alcohol-related crashes in the state. Underage drinking presents a serious health risk, not only to young people but to the entire community.

The easy availability of alcohol to underage youth is an escalating problem in the area, particularly Charleston county. Due to the tourist population, "visitor services" is the top job category in the county. The county has 403 minibottle licenses on file and is home to over 1,000 beer and wine outlets. (NOTE: South Carolina sells liquor by the minibottle, not by the glass.) The county also ranks third in the state for retail liquor outlets.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The main goal of the Tri-County DUI Victim/Witness program is to reduce alcohol- and drug-related crashes and fatalities in the three counties. To achieve this, the program set the following objectives:

• Solicit the support of law enforcement agencies and magistrates
• Target first and second time DUI offenders
• Present programs in the high schools aimed at young drivers.

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

Begun in 1995, the main feature of the program is the victim impact panel. The panel includes one or more victim survivors of alcohol-related crashes. These survivors talk about the impact that the crash had on their lives and the lives of their friends and families.

The program has activities on two fronts. Judges and magistrates are informed about the panels and asked to include, as part of their sentencing, a requirement that the offender attend an impact panel. Some even offer the option of the impact panel in return for a reduction in bail/bond. The impact panels last for one hour. They are held in a courtroom to increase the impression made. The impact panels are targeted at first and second DUI offenders, as well as those charged with open container violations or those arrested when a party is broken up.

The Victim/Witness Program also makes presentations to school groups, especially prior to graduation. Presentations have been made to middle school and high school groups as well as to the College of Charleston during Red Ribbon Week in December. The presentations may include an impact panel or slides and are made by trauma nurses, victims and the County Coroner.

RESULTS

In the six months that the program has been operational, 422 offenders attended 19 impact panels conducted by the Tri-County Coroner's Victim/Witness Program. The DUI education program for young drivers was presented to 1,520 students in eight school groups. The program has been so successful that judges who have not yet been solicited by the program have offered their courtrooms to the impact panel and are requiring offenders to attend panel meetings. Data will be collected in 1997 to determine a recidivism rate for offenders completing the program.