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Northeast Michigan drunk driving arrest, crash rates exceeds state

News File Photo An Alpena County Sheriff’s Office deputy watches traffic in July 2021.

ALPENA — Compared to other areas of the state, a larger share of drivers on Northeast Michigan roads may be drunk, state data released last month indicates.

The Alpena area’s rates of both drunk driving arrests and intoxicated crashes exceed statewide rates, according to a News analysis of annual Michigan State Police reports.

Over the last five years, such crashes injured 206 people and killed 20 in Northeast Michigan.

The reports show that, between 2016 and 2020:

∫ Northeast Michigan police reported 113 alcohol-related crashes per 100,000 residents, compared to 98 crashes per 100,000 residents statewide.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Deputy Josh Lefebvre, of the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office, speaks to a driver during a traffic stop on road patrol last month.

∫ Police made 1,243 arrests for driving while intoxicated on Northeast Michigan roads, or 409 arrests per 100,000 residents, compared to 308 arrests per capita statewide.

∫ More than half of those arrested in Alpena County last year were “super drunk,” with a bodily alcohol content more than double Michigan’s legal limit of 0.08%.

Check out the interactive graphic below. Story continues below the graphic.

Northeast Michigan culture embraces alcohol consumption, and most residents drink responsibly, said 1st Lt. John Grimshaw, commander of the Michigan State Police-Alpena Post.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Deputy Josh Lefebvre, left, and Deputy Michael Lash, both of the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office, handle a traffic stop during road patrol last month.

Still, he said, police need to stop drunk drivers.

“It’s simple,” Grimshaw said. “They kill people.”

Check out the video below. Viewing on mobile? Turn your device horizontally for the best viewing experience. Story continues below the video.

A DEADLY CRIME

Nationally, drunk driving-related deaths decreased by 49% — and by 71% among those younger than 21 — between 1991 and 2018, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Deputy Josh Lefebvre, of the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office, radios information about a traffic stop during road patrol last month.

Media campaigns and classroom curriculum urging people to think before they drink and drive may explain that drop, said Allison LaPlatt, volunteer resources specialist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving of Michigan.

Still, despite decades of messages such as “friends don’t let friends drive drunk,” people still get behind the wheel when they shouldn’t.

And people die.

Intoxicated driving crashes killed at least three people in Northeast Michigan each year since 2016.

Check out the interactive graphic below. Story continues below the graphic.

‘TWO MONSTERS’

While crashes involving drugs decreased by half between 2018 and 2020 in Northeast Michigan, police see more people driving drugged than in the past, including more drivers under the influence of marijuana since Michigan voters legalized the drug in 2018, according to Alpena County Undersheriff Erik Smith.

“Now, you’ve got two monsters you’re fighting,” Smith said.

People who use both alcohol and marijuana are more likely to report driving drunk than those who consume only alcohol, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reported in April. They’re also significantly more likely to speed, drive aggressively, and take risks.

About 300 Alpena-area crashes between 2016 and 2020 involved alcohol only. Just shy of 50 involved drugs only, and another 50 involved both drugs and alcohol.

Check out the interactive graphic below. Story continues below the graphic.

‘100% PREVENTABLE’

Each of the 11,000 intoxication-related crashes in Michigan last year — including the 75 in Northeast Michigan — “was 100% preventable,” said LaPlatt, the MADD advocate.

Crashes hurt innocent people on their way to work, running an errand, or headed home from a social gathering, LaPlatt said.

She urged everyone to talk to loved ones about the dangers of drinking and driving.

“It could easily be you.” LaPlatt said, “or your child or your spouse or your best friend who don’t make it home safely if someone didn’t have that conversation.”

Deputy Josh Lefebvre, of the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office, called drunk driving a selfish crime.

“You can call a cab,” Lefebvre said. “Get a ride. Find another way to get home without endangering someone.”

After a crash

For help navigating the emotional, financial, and logistical aftermath of a car crash caused by a drunk or drugged driver, call Betsy Harris, northern Michigan victim services specialist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, at 906-474-9346, or call the state MADD office at 248-528-1745.

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