Uber or Lyft is a lot less expensive than the costs associated with being arrested

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

Death.

Serious injury

Those are the harshest of consequences for driving under the influence.

Jeffrey Cabanting-Rafael of the Battle Ground Police Department and all law enforcement officials understand this reality. They have responded to the crashes, to the crimes on the road.

“When we get a DUI driver off the road, we look at it, police wise, like we’ve just prevented a potential homicide,” he said.

Drunk or drugged drivers cannot take some things back, the officer noted.

“If someone loses their life, … you don’t get to fix that. There’s no way to band-aid that up,” Cabanting-Rafael said.

But there are other ways to help educate the public: There are monetary costs, as well.

Even when a drunk driver is caught before a death or serious injury occurs, there will be monetary consequences. Fines. Court dates. Maybe loss of work time while spending a weekend in jail. Insurance costs. Everything adds up. Thousands of dollars, and maybe tens of thousands of dollars, Cabanting-Rafael said.

Labor Day weekend is approaching, the final holiday of the summer. And it coincides with the first big weekend of college football. People will be celebrating. Watching the game. Enjoying a barbecue with friends. Alcohol will be consumed.

“We don’t mind people drinking. It’s just being safe about it,” Cabanting-Rafael said.

Beyond the obvious of keeping others, and yourself, safe, you will save yourself money by not driving under the influence.

“In today’s day and age, ride-share programs Uber and Lyft, they are a lot cheaper,” Cabanting-Rafael said.

Cabanting-Rafael, Battle Ground Police, and other law enforcement agencies throughout the region are teaming up with Target Zero to be on the lookout for impaired drivers. This is something they do every day on patrol, but it is always a good reminder as a holiday weekend approaches. Target Zero is the state-wide campaign with the mission of having zero traffic-related deaths on Washington’s roads and highways by 2030.

Cabanting-Rafael said it seems his DUI cases come in spurts. He might go a few days without arresting anyone for DUI. But earlier this summer, he arrested three on one night in Battle Ground. One was the driver’s seventh offense. Another was his second offense.

Those are exceptions.

Cabanting-Rafael said, in his experience, most people arrested for DUI get the wake-up call and make corrections in their lives. They are not going to be repeat offenders.

“A lot of folks who get their first DUI, that’s their crossroad. Sometimes they need the first DUI, get through the process, get the bracelets (handcuffs) put on, get their fingerprints done, go to court … the vast majority of them end up fixing it,” Cabanting-Rafael said. “When someone gets their first DUI, it can change their entire perspective.”

It all goes back to the cost of consequences.

If you don’t have a sober driver to take you home, find one.

“Uber might be $60 but it’s better than thousands of dollars in fines or hurting someone, hurting yourself,” Cabanting-Rafael said.