You might think that Michigan's long-running series of unfortunate events would drive Michigan residents to drink. Depressed and with time on their hands, these drinking and sometimes drunken residents should, logic suggests, create a spike in the state's drunken driving arrests.
But no: Instead of arrests increasing lockstep with joblessness, they're on a bender of decline. The number has dropped from 60,971 in 1998 to 47,251 in 2008, the most recent year for which state figures are available.
The lure of big-screen TV
There are many theories to explain the drop, including:
Of all the theories propounded by lawyers, the state police and other experts, my favorite comes from Detroit bar owner John Thompson. He contends that the advent of wide-screen TVs has created a game-change for sports bar owners, wooing patrons from bars to Barcaloungers.
"This isn't a good time for sports bars," says Thompson, proprietor of Honest? John's Bar in Detroit's Midtown. "People spend thousands for surround sound and stay home."
Boom precedes the bust
Lawyers who specialize in drunken driving cases -- a booming specialty a few years ago as tougher laws went into place -- now complain of fierce price competition, as the volume of cases dwindles and more lawyers continue to try the field.
"I'm hearing of cases where lawyers are charging $300," says Mike Nichols, an East Lansing lawyer with a DUI practice. The current competitive climate, he says, is creating what he slyly calls "forced flexibility" in setting legal fees.
The real estate crisis isn't helping these lawyers either.
"Falling property values make it more difficult for people who used to get a line of credit on their houses. Now they can't do that," says Patrick Barone, a Birmingham lawyer who specializes in DUI cases. Credit card companies have cut back.
Fees, fines and costs associated with an arrest can easily climb to $10,000 or higher. The Secretary of State exacts a "driver responsibility fee" of $1,000 a year for two years on a driving-while-intoxicated conviction; $500 for driving-while-impaired.
"Being arrested for drunk driving is extraordinarily expensive," says Anne Readette, spokeswoman for the state Office of Highway Safety Planning.
Further budget cuts may cut the number of arrests further. Some, like Barone, suggest that fewer police on the roads aren't just cutting arrests; they're making us less safe on the roads.
Laura Berman's column runs Tuesday and Thursday in Metro. Reach her at lberman@detnews.com">lberman@detnews.com or call (313) 222-2032
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