Why Grandma Doesn’t Get a Dui
Why Grandma Doesn’t Get a Dui
Why Grandma Doesn’t Get A DUI!
By Ken P.
I have always heard that liars figure and figures lie, but when I started delving deeply into the data about women and alcoholism I found many figures that just didn’t…well…figure!
For example, when it comes to DUI’s (or DWI’s) the number of arrests never matches any data on the incidence of alcoholism among women as compared to men. The trends are certainly there; in 1977 only 8% of DUI’s were for women, and by 2007 that percentage had doubled to 15%. But that still means that there are 85 DUI arrests for men for every 15 for women in a culture whose youngest generation (the ones proven to do most of the drinking) have a higher usage rate for alcohol among females than among males! I started digging to find out how this could happen.
Here is what I found. The difference is not truly in the number of women who are stopped who could be arrested for DUI. The difference lies in factors involving the policeman making the decision about whether to arrest or not, and his personal biases!
A study by the National Highway and Safety Administration (US DOT Report H5-801-230) shows clearly the real factors involved in Officer O’malley’s decisions. Decisions like, does he put the cuffs on Grandma? How about that cute YUPPY on her way back from Happy Hour to her condo?
Here’s the first quote from the DOT study.
“The officer’s personal use of alcohol is inversely related to his level of alcohol-related enforcement. Patrolmen who drink make significantly fewer arrests than those who do not, and those who drink frequently make significantly fewer arrests than those who use alcohol only occasionally.”
This says that all of us have a better chance of “skating” when stopped drunk if the officer himself is a drinker!
The study elaborates concerning women. It points out that most officers are male, and that they tend to decide not to arrest anybody who is less aggressive, also anybody who looks, acts, sounds, and smells like their wife, mother, grandmother, sister, or the girl next door!
Looking deeper into the stone, what is the most dangerous result of women not receiving the DUI’s they clearly earn? It is this; dui’s are red flags that alcoholism is a problem. Women, because they donnot receive them, are allowed to progress deeper into the disease of alcoholism before they show up on society’s radar screen.
In future writings I will show the same denial among other professionals such as physicians, clergymen, judges and attorneys. When are we all going to stop denying and admit that our women are right now…in this generation…more often alcoholics and addicts than in any other generation? Put another way, do you really believe that the latest starlet with this problem is an exception?
If you are a man living in denial about the alcoholism and/or addiction in a woman in your life, please get help. Call Al-Anon, a support group for family members of alcoholics at 1-888-4AL-ANON or visit www.al-anon.alateen.org right now!
Author’s qualifications
Ken P.
Ken P. was raised in poverty among what would in AA terminology be referred to as “low-bottom drunks.” He was also married for 19 years to a woman who became a practicing alcoholic.
Ken is a singular man in that he has been active in the Al-Anon recovery program for 30 years, a program usually attended by women. For three decades he has attended two to three meetings per week, led meetings, sponsored many men, spoken at major Al-Anon and AA conferences, and served as chairman of the board of directors for the Al-Anon Intergroup office, which serves over 200 weekly meetings in the Houston area.
The 12-step program has given Ken a totally new life, which he shares with his wife, who will be called Katy in his writings. Next to his relationship with the God of his understanding, Ken values the deep loving relationship he and Katy have formed more than anything else.
Recently, Ken has dedicated himself to his 12-step program, and to tutoring students in the SAT, higher math and science. He began writing about the recovery process for men with addicted family members in June of 2006.
For Ken personally, publication of his thoughts represents the chance to help the families of addicts on an even broader scale, which he is convinced is one of the most important purposes for his life.
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