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Drinking, driving don’t mix

Dear Editor:

Hello, my name is Scott Riggins and I am a student at Basalt High School. Our class is working on Project Citizen assignment exploring policies in the government. In the Roaring Fork Valley and nationwide, driving under the influence of alcohol is an ongoing issue and has a big impact on the surrounding community. Recently the police reported that about 50 percent of recent DUIs given were charged to second time or multiple time offenders. This statistic shows that being charged with a DUI isn’t doing enough to keep offenders out of the driver’s seat when they are impaired.

A policy to counter the issue is the ignition interlock device that requires offenders to have the device in their car. This device makes it so the driver has to blow in the device before operating the vehicle to test the alcohol level of the driver. The offender would have to pay for the installation of the device if they wanted the ability to drive and if they didn’t want to pay they would have to wait a period of time before receiving the device payment from the government. A local Basalt police officer supported this policy and agreed that this was one of the most effective ways to deter the number of DUIs in the area.



DUIs in the area are an ongoing issue and affect the lives of many people.

Scott Riggins




Basalt