Albuquerque police are celebrating a dramatic drop in the number of drivers being arrested at DWI checkpoints. Police officials think drivers are finally learning the lesson about the dangers of drinking and driving.
However, technology may be helping drunk drivers stay one step ahead of police.
If you have a smart-phone, like a Droid or iPhone, there’s a free app that you can download called PhantomAlert. If you’ve had some drinks and you decide to drive, PhantomAlert will tell you if there are any DWI checkpoints on the way home. And if that’s not enough, there are plenty of Twitter pages giving similar warnings.
Some believe this use of technology is a contributor to the recent drop in DWI checkpoint arrests. “They use the phone for everything, to warn each other about everything,” said Albuquerque driver Magda Apodaca. “People are going to be using that to avoid the DWI checkpoints, and that could be why the number of arrests are down right now,” said Albuquerque driver Carolyn Johnson.
The city gave Eyewitness News 4 some figures. We crunched them further, and we found out the number of DWI checkpoint arrests are down about two-thirds from ten years ago to where APD is arresting on average about eight drivers per checkpoint.
City Public Safety Director Darren White does not think social networking or phone apps are the reason for the drop. “I think that happened with the advent of the cell phone,” said White. “There may be some of that, but I think with the reductions that we’re seeing, we’re giving drunks way too much credit to be able to use technology to keep up with us.”
White thinks New Mexico drivers are simple getting the hint after numerous high-profile fatal crashes and an aggressive DWI awareness campaign launched by Governor Bill Richardson.
White does not think all the drunks are checking their phones before leaving the bars. “I’m not saying that doesn’t happen,” said White. “I’m just saying I don’t think it’s to the point where we’re seeing these reductions across the board.” White says the number of alcohol-related crashed are down as well. And he says the bars are doing more to make sure people are not getting behind the wheel drunk.
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