Swanick announces new measures to combat drunk driving on Island

Photos by Larry Kensinger
Story by Ralph Schwarz
Grand Island Dispatch, April 9, 2004

Erie County Legislator Chuck Swanick (left) looks on as Deputy John Lake of the Erie County Sheriffs Department demonstrates the use of an Alco Sensor device.

The portable, hand-held Alco Sensor device allows for accurate, on-the-spot sobriety tests.

In an effort to combat the increasing rate of drunk driving-related incidents, Erie County Legislator Charles Swanick (R-Tonawanda, Grand Island) presented four Alco Sensor devices to the Grand Island Erie County Sheriffs substation on April 2.

The pocket-sized, hand-held sensors allow for simple and accurate on-the-spot checks to determine whether a driver suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol passes or fails the sobriety test. Working similar to the breathalyzer machines found at most police stations, the portable devices indicate right on location whether a motorist's blood-alcohol level exceeds the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Based on the Alco Sensor test, the patrol can make a tentative arrest on location and follow up at the station with a breathalyzer test to verify the initial result.

"We want to send a message out to the people who think the can live on the edge and drink and drive this summer," Swanick said. "We are going to catch you; we are going to arrest you; and we are going to convict you. And you will be in trouble with fines and in trouble with the courts. We don't want drunks here on Grand Island."

Alarmed by 37 drunk-driving arrests in the town of Grand Island since last October, Swanick secured $1,400 in Public Benefit funding from the Erie County Legislature to purchase the sensors.

"This [37 drunk-driving arrests] is a very large number and it continues to grow," Swanick said. "We want to make sure that people who live on Grand Island are safe when they are in their cars."

In addition to the Alco Sensors, Swanick also announced that the Erie County Sheriffs Department will conduct four 4-hour special patrols on Grand Island for the next months to seek out drunk drivers. The special patrols feature a sheriff's deputy working on overtime so as not to interrupt the local law enforcement coverage.

"They will drive around the Island on a hourly basis, solely looking for anyone that may be intoxicated or be influenced [by alcohol]," Swanick said. "We are combining our resources because we want everybody to feel safe on Grand Is-land. We don't want anybody this summer or at any time to get hurt or injured by DWI."

Speaking for the town of Grand Island, Councilman Richard Crawford Jr. thanked Swanick and the Sheriffs Department for their efforts to combat drunk driving in coordination with the Grand Island Police Department.

"We are hoping that this message gets out loud and clear to everyone," Crawford said.

The measures to curb down drunk driving started immediately as of April 2.

"The plan is in place and it will go on throughout the summer," Swanick said, adding that more funding has been already set aside to purchase more sensors and to employ more officers. "We are off to the races and we are going to catch you."