An 18-year old was arrested Wednesday, July 9 at approximately 2 A.M. for driving while intoxicated (DWI.) The young man, who asked to remain unnamed, was dropping a friend off on the way to his own home, when the Nassau Country police cruiser turned its sirens on. The police ran him through a battery of tests, then arrested him and took him to the police precinct for another test and to stay the night. The young man’s car was impounded, and his license suspended until his court date on July 30, at which time a Judge will determine the extent of the punishment.
According to the young man, “I was driving under the speed limit, in a straight line the entire time. It wasn’t until I pulled over to drop my friend off that the cops pulled me over.” The Police Officer said that he was being arrested for “speeding and failure to maintain a straight line.” They then ran the young man through a battery of tests, including walking a straight line, following a flash light, and blowing into a breathalyzer. “The field sobriety tests were negative, but they asked me to blow into the breathalyzer anyway, which I then blew a .07.”
“They never read me my rights, and did not give a valid reason for arresting me,” said the young man, who has been speaking to a lawyer. He hopes to limit the length at which he will be without a driver’s license as well as have the DWI removed from his record.
This arrest comes after a recent push by Nassau County Police to stop drunk driving during Memorial Day Weekend. Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi vowed to crackdown on drunk drivers. “If you are drinking and decide to get behind the wheel of a car, we’re going to arrest you because you have the potential to ruin lives. And we’re going to ruin your life and put you in jail,” said Suozzi. This comes following an accident in which a Police Officer is in critical condition after his Cruiser was hit by a drunk driver. Interestingly enough, the Officer had just pulled over a drunk driver. In 2007, there were 3,360 DWI arrests, and more are expected for 2008 due to increased patrolling.
One part of the crackdown that is in effect today, is the police department’s effort to shame people into not driving drunk. The police are releasing the photos of those charged with DWI to local newspapers, asking for them to be published. These photos can be seen online at Newsday’s Wall of Shame. Luckily for the young man arrested on July 9, Newsday does not publish pictures of those less than 19 years of age. He had driven home “buzzed” before, but after being caught he admits that it was “not worth it.”
– Brian Rubinton
Introduction to Journalism 
DWI = Driving under the “influence.” And, as far as I am concerned whether that influence be .08 .07 or .09+ under the influence one poses a risk to others. I hope that there is some sort of harsh punishment, being that a slap on the wrist is not enough to stop this plague of irresponsibility. If you are going to drink hail a cab, spend the night, or gee just don’t drink at all if you need to take your car. I don’t get why people think just because they might be under .08 it is OK to drive. It is not, you are under the influence of alcohol.
I completely agree, your reaction time is affected with any amount of alcohol in your body. Which is why there should be better public transportation in suburban areas. Sometimes a person doesn’t have much of a choice if they have to get home for work the next morning. While in a city there’s no excuse not to take a train or a bus.
I definitley agree with Mary Kate. If one has a .06 in their body they are drinking and operating a vehicle. Its wrong and its a huge problem in this country. People left and right are driving drunk and is such a hazard on the road. I believe that their should be more checkpoints for officers to look at every person that drives by and make sure there is no problems concerning alcohol or drugs.
I agree with Brian’s point that suburban areas need improvement with their public transportation. If there were more buses and trains running later at night when most drivers are drinking, I’m sure they would choose public transportation over driving home and being a risk to themselves and others.
According to TIME magazine, %40 percent of drivers are drunk driv in in the new york. How many of them could be pulled over? If you drunk and do not go over speed limit, You wont get any problem. There are plenty of night clubs, how those people go home?
I think creating public transportation on LI, where it doesn’t exist, would create a slew of other problems for some people. Many places are accessible only by car, and I’m sure that’s the way that many people want it on LI.
I was told Levittown was created by a racist man by the name of Levitt who consciously created the town with no public transportation to keep minorities out.
Actually, here is something from Wikipedia:
As the first and one of the largest mass-produced suburbs, Levittown quickly became a symbol of postwar suburbia, for good and for bad. Although Levittown provided affordable houses in what many residents felt to be a congenial community, critics damned its homogeneity, blandness, and racial exclusivity (the initial lease prohibited rental to non-whites). Today, “Levittown” is used as a term of derogation to describe overly-sanitized suburbs consisting largely of tract housing. Oddly enough, although Levittown is remembered largely for its homogeneity and conformism, the houses of Levittown have by now been so thoroughly expanded and modified by their owners that their original architectural form can be quite difficult to see.
…now that was only in the 50s…