Don't Get a Ticket for DWR: Drinking while Riding

By Steve Tuttle

So you tailgated in the parking lot at the football game, had a couple more beers at halftime and one last one in the back seat on the way home — but with your stone-cold sober wife as designated driver, mind you. Nothing wrong with that cherished Tar Heel tradition, right?

Wrong. You were breaking the state's new law against drinking while riding which went into effect on Sept. 1. It's long been illegal for a driver to have an open container behind the wheel but now the ban extends to everyone in the car.

The General Assembly griped long and loud this summer before finally knuckling under to what was a new federal mandate. Two years ago Congress passed a bill requiring states to enact laws against drinking while riding or else lose a significant chunk of federal highway money. North Carolina stood to lose $170 million over seven years if it didn't go along.

Congress' laudable goal was to send a strong signal that alcohol should be kept away from everyone on the road. And it would tighten up on drunk drivers handing their open container to a passenger as soon as they see a blue light.

No one in the legislature was against cracking down on drunk driving. In fact, North Carolina was among the early states to lower the legal drinking limit to .08 percent of blood alcohol from .10. For many people, that's down from three beers to two or less to get a ticket for DWI.

But outlawing drinking while riding seemed a bit harsh to many in the General Assembly. One legislator rose to exclaim that you wouldn't even have to be riding to break the law. It would be illegal to have an open container in the back seat of a car parked on the side of the road. “This is the time to draw the line in the sand. For them to blackmail you with your own money, it ain't right,” Sen. John Kerr (D-Wayne) told reporters.

Former Speaker Dan Blue of Raleigh railed against the bill in the House, pointing out that it could get some well-meaning people in trouble. What if a person took the keys away from a friend at a bar to drive him home, and the tipsy friend insisted on finishing his last drink on the way? Wouldn't the ban discourage designated drivers?

Finally, an amendment was adopted spelling out that it would be the beer-drinking passenger who got the ticket — and not the driver. The Senate went a step further by sunsetting the prohibition after two years. Moreover, the penalty was watered down to an infraction, not a moving violating of the kind that means points on your license.

And in a final “up yours” shot at Washington, the Senate asked the Attorney General's Office to sue the federal government for intruding into state authority. After the dust settled, the measure, H. 1499 Interlock/Open Container Changes, was ratified on July 13 and signed into law by Gov. Jim Hunt.

Legislators later seemed to get over their anger when it became clear the law doesn't have many teeth. “There was great huffing and puffing in the Senate on this bill, but in the end the changes were not all that significant,” Rep. Joe Hackney (D-Orange) was quoted as saying.


Graduated Licenses Cuts Wrecks
Car wrecks involving 16-year-olds dropped 26 percent last year, according to a UNC Highway Safety Research Center study which concludes that the state's three-year-old experiment with restricted licenses for teen-agers is a smashing success. In 1997, 16-year-old drivers had 12,142 wrecks in North Carolina. That number dropped to 9,012 in 1999, the center said. Sixteen-year-olds were involved in 47 percent fewer late-night accidents last year than before the state imposed the new rules.

As a result of legislation adopted by the General Assembly in 1997, teen-agers can earn their licenses six months past their 16th birthday at the earliest, instead of on their 16th birthday. Teens who get a ticket at any stage in their learning will not get their licenses until they are 17 or older.

Job-related Fatalities Decline
Workplace deaths in North Carolina declined in 1999, dropping from 228 to 222, the state Department of Labor said in an annual report. The construction industry recorded the highest number of on-the-job fatalities while the manufacturing sector posted the most significant decrease in 1999, falling from 35 to 28, the report said. Incidents involving transportation accounted for the bulk of fatal injuries. Ninety-five people died in work-related traffic accidents last year, down from 112 in 1998.

There were fewer deaths among those of Hispanic origin for the second consecutive year and the number of women killed on the job also declined in 1999.

On-the-job deaths from assaults and other violent acts rose to 43 in 1999 compared to 37 in 1998. Contact with objects and equipment, which includes workers being struck by objects or caught in machinery, dipped from 38 in 1998 to 31 in 1999.

A private industry breakdown reveals that construction accounted for the largest number of fatal injuries in 1999 with 47. The agriculture, forestry and fishing industry recorded 34 fatalities in 1999. The manufacturing sector experienced 28 fatalities, down from 35 in 1998.

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