An Associated Press review of Wisconsin arrest records found the state's new, more stringent drunken driving law didn't change the number of fatal crashes during the first three months the law was in effect. Critics who opposed lowering the state's legal blood-alcohol limit to 0.08 percent say the findings prove that the law is superfluous and only penalizes responsible drivers. Advocates say it's too early to proclaim the law a failure and that summer drunken-driving statistics will be the true measure of its impact.

There's probably some truth to both arguments. But there's another that both sides are missing. The most important aspect of the 0.08 law and publicity surrounding its enactment might be that it has forced Wisconsin to come one step closer to confronting its epidemic of alcohol abuse. There's little doubt that some people - perhaps not enough to change statistics, but some - learned of the new law and changed their behavior. They read that an average man now is considered drunk after only three or four drinks, and an average woman can't drive legally after only two or three. They realized that they can't really tell the difference between 0.08 percent and 0.10 percent. And they concluded that the safest and most responsible course is to not drive at all after drinking.

Don't take it from us. Take it from Hartford resident James Koepke, 40, who was driving home from a night out drinking with his buddies just a few days after the 0.08 law took effect. Koepke lost control of his car in Washington County, hit a tree and killed his 34-year-old passenger. "The only way to (avoid driving drunk) is to abstain from driving totally," he said. "If you have had one drink, in my opinion, you don't need to drive at all."
Koepke knew of the law's change but he still drove. And judging by the 2,467 alcohol-related crashes in October, November and December, the first three months the law was on the books, thousands of others in Wisconsin continued to drive after drinking.

Which is why we say we're only one small step closer to acknowledging the epidemic and addressing it. In Marathon County, a group called BRAVO, Building Responsible Alcohol Values and Options, is trying to take the next step. BRAVO is an offshoot of the 2003 Marathon County Health Assessment, which identified alcohol abuse as one of the six top medical concerns facing our area. The group is in the process of developing a plan to address the problem at its root - children who are being raised in environments that accept and even encourage alcohol use and abuse. And in this state, that means almost every environment.

Wisconsin ranks No. 1 in the nation in binge drinking, and Marathon County is among the worst in the state. Each month, one-third of the adults here go on a drinking binge. Those habits start young. Studies have shown that kids who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol problems than those who begin when they're 21. And 20 percent of all eighth-graders have been drunk at least once. A Center for Alcohol Marketing and Youth study released last week found that kids are exposed to 226 alcohol ads for every one message they get about drinking responsibly.

We must increase those messages and increase them dramatically. To get involved with the BRAVO initiative, call Shannon Young at 845-2947. To have a direct and immediate impact, sit down with your child and talk about alcohol use. It's not easy. But if you don't, your kid could end up standing in Koepke's shoes. Or worse. He or she could end up being the 34-year-old who went out drinking with Koepke and ended the night dead.

(Written by Pete Wasson, July 8, 2004, and reprinted with permission from the Wausau Daily Herald, wausaudailyherald.com)