Saturday, April 27, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
They are an expense that would have to be squeezed into another year's budget, but state legislators say DUI vans could be put to good use in Nevada.
That was the sentiment of a majority of responses to a SUN letter mailed in late February asking 63 state lawmakers for their opinions on acquiring these mini-detention centers on wheels.
The vans are gaining in popularity across the country because of their efficiency in handling motorists suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol (suspected drug use requires testing at a hospital). Packed into one mobile unit is everything required to process a suspect:
* A tool to measure a driver's intoxication by breath or blood.
* A computer to check for warrants and prior arrests.
* A cellular phone for suspects to call attorneys.
* An independent electrical source for power.
* A holding tank for prisoners.
* All the forms necessary for a DUI arrest.
* Some even have video cameras and recording devices to further support a district attorney's case.
Depending on the size of the vehicle, DUI vans often travel to locations where officers have stopped drivers suspected of being intoxicated. All can be stationed at sobriety checkpoints.
Advocates, including the Phoenix Police Department, say their vans get officers back on the streets in a third the time it usually takes to process a suspected intoxicated driver.
The San Diego Police Department hails its van as one of the best public relations tools to remind people not to drink and drive. At every checkpoint, they hand out fliers relevant to the drunken driving problem.
"We must always remember, however, that it is only a tool," said Assemblyman Richard Perkins, a Henderson police captain.
"This kind of tool is not a panacea and it also has limitations," the Democrat said. "But used properly, it is another arrow in the law enforcement quiver against violators of our DUI laws."
Devising a plan
Forty-six percent of Nevada's legislative body responded to the SUN's inquiry. Answering were nine of the state's 21 senators and 20 of 42 Assembly members.
All agreed that Nevada's DUI situation is serious, and many of them said they were prompted to look into the issue of intoxicated drivers more closely as a result of the SUN's letter.
"My research has shown that the serious-injury and fatal DUI-related crashes are caused by offenders with BAs (blood-alcohol measurements) of 0.17 to 0.25 and above," said Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas.
A blood-alcohol or breath-alcohol reading of 0.10 or higher is considered legally intoxicated in Nevada.
Officers have a two-hour window in which to obtain a sample that can be used as proof of DUI in court.
Logandale Justice of the Peace Lannie Waite said he's had past DUI cases thrown out because the test results -- required by law to be two samples taken 20 minutes apart -- didn't make the deadline. Those cases involved suspects arrested in his remote area and transported to the Clark County Detention Center for testing more than an hour later.
The price tag
DUI vans come in a variety of sizes to meet a variety of needs. The most mobile are converted Chevy vans like the six currently roving the streets of Phoenix, which cost about $40,000 apiece.
Police departments in Tempe and Mesa, Ariz., and San Diego have the next size up -- the bread-truck style -- that cost $55,000 to $70,000.
Other agencies have converted motor homes to serve as DUI vans and command centers. The price tag for these more cumbersome units: $135,000 and up.
How many vans should Nevada have? And where should they be based? And -- the bottom line -- how to pay for them?
Responding legislators raised all those questions, and most commented that the decision is up to individual law enforcement agencies.
Senate Majority Whip Sue Lowden, R-Las Vegas, recommended a pilot program that would place a van in Clark County, Reno-Sparks and Elko.
Results would help gauge the state's true need for DUI vans, she said.
Sharing costs
Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said the project could be funded with federal money through a traffic safety grant. But because all federal money for fiscal year 1996 has been assigned to other programs, a state agency such as the Nevada Highway Patrol would have to wait until mid-1997 for funding.
Many respondents, such as Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, suggested funding should be a combination of local, state and federal money, not to exclude the possibility of private contributions.
A DUI van in Arizona, for example, was paid for exclusively by a utility company that lost an employee to a drunken driver.
Assembly members Jan Evans, D-Sparks, and Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, take a more progressive approach: Make DUI offenders pay for a DUI van program through fines and fees.
"In the last legislative session, I introduced a bill calling for the confiscation and selling of drunk drivers' vehicles at the point of arrest," said Assemblyman William Harrington, R-Las Vegas, who is not seeking re-election.
Capt. Carl Fruge, who heads the Metro Police traffic division, envisions about $200,000 in operating costs to effectively run a DUI van program in Metro's jurisdiction -- factoring in the cost for a vehicle, maintenance and the salaries for three officers to keep the program running.
Metro now uses a trailer for DUI checkpoints. It's got the lights, flairs, traffic cones and signs that are used to set up a checkpoint, as well as a breath tester and all the necessary DUI forms.
"We'd love to have a DUI van, but for now we don't have the manpower to run one," Fruge said.
Metro has 74 officers in its traffic division who handle a population of more than 800,000. "Divide that figure by 74 officers and split it up into three shifts, and it's easy to see why it would be hard for us to dedicate three officers right now to a DUI van," Fruge said. "For now, our priority is getting more officers in our division."
The Salt Lake City Police Department has helped lower costs by sharing a DUI van belonging to Utah's highway patrol for checkpoints.
"It's a friendly reminder not to drink and drive," said Sgt. Jim Faraone. "If seeing it convinces one person in a thousand not to drive drunk, is it worth it? If you look at the expense of a DUI van vs. the savings in human life, is it worth it? I'd say it is, without a doubt."
Other avenues
Assemblyman Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, isn't sold on the idea.
"Our DUI rate has fallen substantially in the past 20 years," Schneider said. "Death rates for DUI-related accidents were higher 10, 12, 15 years ago, and in that time our population has doubled, tripled.
"We pass a lot of laws and they aren't deterrents. The van itself is not a deterrent. When there's a car accident on the freeway, people slow down as they pass it, but two miles down the road, they're speeding again. Even a fatal accident doesn't affect them."
Society, not a van, can turn the DUI problem around, Schneider said. He attributes a portion of the lowered death rates to increased advertising of messages to not drink and drive.
"Do we need an expensive floating lab or do we need to shore up current procedures to reduce time of the officers involved?" asked Assemblywoman Patricia Tripple, R-Reno.
Assemblyman Perkins is in favor of DUI vans, but added that while an officer's time can initially be saved at the DUI scene, there is still processing time once the suspect is taken to jail.
"And it can cost you more time in court," Fruge said. "Because the arresting officer is also the same person who administers the tests and books the suspect into jail, he will have to be in court that much longer to provide all the testimony the district attorney's office needs to prosecute the case."
Assemblyman Brian Sandoval, R-Reno, said the concept of a DUI van isn't new in Northern Nevada, nor do its law enforcement officers feel they need one.
The concept of a "BAT Mobile," or Blood-Alcohol-Testing Mobile, was developed about six years ago, he said, but law enforcement and prosecutors in Washoe County determined they didn't need one.
"Their system worked well because of a centralized jail facility, the (low) frequency of DUI arrests and the performance of arresting officers and prosecutors," Sandoval said. "Their opinions haven't changed."
Lt. Jim Ballard of the Reno Police Department added that it takes at most 20 minutes to get to the county jail's breath tester from any point in the city of 150,000 people. "We don't want DUI vans. We don't need them," he said.
Constituents may be receiving a call or mail query soon -- many legislators said they would reach out to the public for help with the DUI question.
An average of one alcohol-related fatality happened every 32 minutes across the United States in 1994, statistics show. A total of 125 people died from alcohol-related driving accidents in Nevada, and 62 of the deaths were in Clark County.
"Even though my personal life has not been affected by DUI, in my professional career as a physical therapist I have seen the disastrous pain and suffering which have come to my patients as a direct result of a drunk driver," wrote Assemblyman Jack Close, R-Las Vegas.
"I do not begrudge anyone their right to consume alcohol," Close said. "It is only when they get behind the wheel and cause others to suffer because of their mistakes that it bothers me."
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