[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 26, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           HAMPTON, VIRGINIA'S EFFORTS TO CURB DRUNK DRIVING

                                 ______


                        HON. HERBERT H. BATEMAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 26, 1994

  Mr. BATEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the city of 
Hampton, VA for receiving the 1994 National City Challenge to Stop 
Drunk Driving Inspiration Award for cities over 100,000 in population.
  After realizing that habitual offenders constituted a 
disproportionate share of the city's drinking and driving problem, 
Hampton developed the Habitual Offender Project. By obtaining a list of 
repeat offenders from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, city 
police officers selected and monitored 88 of the worst habitual 
offenders for sentence violations or additional DWI violations. Fifty-
eight percent of the city's repeat offenders had been arrested within 2 
years. With the help of the Habitual Offender Project, Hampton's 
alcohol-related accidents have decreased 36 percent and alcohol-related 
fatalities have decreased 70 percent over the past 5 years.
  We all are aware of the losses caused by drunk drivers, not only in 
Virginia but also across the Nation. I recognize the need to involve 
all citizens in efforts to reduce the frequency of drunk driving and 
support community programs such as Hampton's Habitual Offender Project. 
A program inexpensively transferred to other jurisdictions, this 
project sends the indispensable message that injuries as well as deaths 
resulting from drunk and drugged driving, specifically repeat offenses, 
are not to be tolerated.
  I again congratulate Hampton for its efforts and hope the city 
continues to be an innovator in the fight against drinking and driving.

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