How To Catch A Drunk Driver

Wisconsin has been rated the worst state for traffic fatalities involving a drunk driver by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD). A survey by the Appleton Post-Crescent newspaper that ranked all 50 states on ten key areas related to alcohol consumption and impact of drinking found Wisconsin has the most pervasive drinking culture in the country. Other studies show that Wisconsin leads the nation in binge drinking, alcohol use among adults, driving after drinking among high school students, female drinkers of child-bearing age, and possibly the number of infants born with fetal alcohol syndrome.

You know you're going to be dodging drunk drivers at some point--definitely at bar closing time in any community, on holidays, Fridays, weekends, and Thursdays if you're in a college town, since students start their weekend drinking early (although not as many students have cars).

Driving home to the Madison area after dropping off my oldest grandchild at camp near Prairie du Chien on a Sunday afternoon, when Katie noticed a car weaving around on the highway ahead, she called 911 and notified authorities of our location. With 3 young grandchildren in the van, I cautioned Katie not to follow the potentially impaired driver too closely, but she was determined not to let him out of her sight until authorities showed up. Whether he was drunk or not, he was driving dangerously.

When we didn't see a trooper after the first call, she called again. This time while she was on the phone, the driver veered out of his lane in a small town along the highway, did a U-turn in the middle of the road up onto someone's yard on a corner, bumped down the curb and sped off down a side street.