State drops in DWI fatality ranking
Posted at: 10/16/2009 11:57 AM
| Updated at: 10/16/2009 7:07 PM
By: Eric Kahnert, Eyewitness News 4; Charlie Pabst, KOB.com
New Mexico had been stuck in that 9th position for two years straight, and was in a worse spot before then.
After all of the DWI superblitzes, checkpoints, and saturation patrols, the state is proud to announce it is now on 11th on the list.
State Police Sergeant Kevin Bruno oversees the DWI unit in Albuquerque.
Sgt. Bruno said Friday, "To have a national statistic show New Mexico actually getting out of the top ten is amazing and is a great thing for the state."
He said, "With all the efforts made: the media campaigns, the extra stepped-up enforcement by all law enforcement agencies, people, I think, are starting to get the picture."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration puts out the list each year—these most recent stats are from 2008.
DWI fatalities were down 21% from 2007, putting New Mexico at 11 on the list.
Bruno said, "It doesn't seem like much going down a little bit, but it is it's huge. It shows the efforts made by all law enforcement agencies, including the government, its starting to pay off and we're starting to see some really positive things coming from it."
Sgt. Bruno's DWI officers patrol the interstates, but he says a lot of credit should be given to APD and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department as well.
He said, "It's a great feeling to know there is something positive coming out of those efforts. I mean, every night these guys go out and work their tail off to get those people off the road and prevent injury accidents and prevent death."
The numbers are encouraging, but DWI officials still admit there is work to be done.
The same report finds that for every 100,000 New Mexico residents, 18 die in DWI crashes.
That's still above the national average of 12 deaths per 100,000 people.
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