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Three people were stopped from killing other innocent people two weeks ago. As those three people traveled through the University of Maine premises, our university’s Public Safety officers charged them with operating under the influence. Lives were quite possibly saved by a quick 30-second check of cars driving through campus two Fridays ago. Still, there was apparently something to complain about by some people on this campus.
Third-year student Jason Arsenault was quoted in a Maine Campus article Nov. 24 as saying that the roadblocks were “an excuse to interrogate law-abiding citizens.” He said he felt his rights were violated by the checkpoints. He said, “While I want to stop drunk driving I am not willing to be subjected to such sneaky tactics in order to do so.” How, then, does Arsenault and others who whined with him after the checkpoints suggest Public Safety officers handle the problem of drunk driving on a large college campus such as this one? If there are better ways than checkpoints, please lead the way Arsenault.
There obviously is a problem even here at UMaine with drunk driving. Public Safety Lt. Jeff King said in the same article, “We have seen double the OUIs and it’s only three-quarters of the way through the semester.”
Forty-one percent of the people who died in all traffic accidents last year were victims of alcohol-related crashes. The number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities rose to 17,419 in 2002 – which is nearly the equivalent of losing two jetliners of people every week for a year, according to the chairperson for the National Transportation Safety Board.
Now, those of you who complained about having been stopped for no more than a minute, pretend for a moment that one of those fatalities was your sister, brother, best friend, parent or significant other. Now was the time it took to make sure you were not endangering others worth it?
Public Safety had reason to conduct its checkpoints. In what way is that a “sneaky tactic?” People who are guilty of drunk driving feel it is sneaky and unjust if they perhaps have been at fault in the past or that particular night. It is only rude, annoying, frustrating, irritating, wrong or stupid in the eyes of those whose friends were the ones charged with OUI and punished for those offenses. It is only a hassle to those who don’t think twice about abusing alcohol and getting behind the wheel.
For me, however, it was a blessing to see those officers. Student-saviors with their flashlights and smiling faces who took no more than 30 seconds of my Friday night to ask me where I was coming from as if to say, “Hey did you have a good night tonight?” Then they brushed me on my way after having found nothing to be of concern.
I felt safer that night on this campus than I’ve felt in a long time. I commended the officers for spending several cold and dark hours outside to make sure that nobody was killed or put in harm’s way because other people were stupid and incompetent at realizing the dangers of mixing alcohol and vehicles.
To complain about such a simple, yet generous, act of helping is beyond irritating to me and probably many other students out there. We should be thankful we have people who care about us instead of whining that we couldn’t get to the next party one minute faster that Friday night. Honestly, what age are we? I thought we were all adults here. Apparently I was wrong.
Angela Fiandaca is a senior journalism major.
