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Citizens' Police Academy learn the effects of drugs, drunk driving
Nevada Daily Mail
With the graduation ceremony of the Nevada Police Department's Citizens' Police Academy just a week away, we students learned about the tragedies that can result from people driving under the influence and the effects illegal substances such as methamphetamines, bath salts and marijuana can have on users.
Cpl. Jim Wilde of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and an accident reconstructionist, said unfortunately, drunk driving could be considered what gives law enforcement agencies job security, as it is the second most prevalent crime in Missouri, and leads to numerous deaths each year.
"I've seen a lot of dead people," Wilde said of his job, adding that he has seen more fatalities as a patrolman than he did in six years of deployment overseas. "You really don't get used to it."
Wilde showed us a video that used to be shown in driver's education classes, showing some of the results of fatal accidents caused by drunk drivers in the state of Missouri, some of them even involving Nevada residents.
Wilde said a significant blood alcohol content level, the legal level of which is 0.08, affects a driver's judgment, motor skills and reaction time, all of which impairs their ability to drive.
Normally, Wilde said a person's reaction time is 1.5 seconds, deteriorating to 2.6 seconds at night. But with a BAC level of 0.10, that reaction time between, for example, seeing someone in the roadway and applying the brakes increases to about 7.8 seconds.
Wilde told us everyday driving includes enough distractions, without adding impaired behavior. And while seat belts provide an amount of protection, Wilde said there are some accidents the victims will not walk away from, despite precautions, adding an accident does not just cause harm to the driver and victims, but to family members as well.
Sgt. Det. Steve Bastow said telling someone of the death of a family member is often the hardest part of the tragic situation.
Patrolmen are occasionally accused of harassing night-time drivers, pulling them over for different infractions they normally would not during the day, but Wilde said that is because they are being even more proactive in trying to stop potential drunk driving before an accident can occur.
"They're not out there to give somebody a hard time," Wilde said.
Officers search for possibly inebriated drivers by observing clues in their driving, including the inability to remain in their lane, failure to use traffic signals, issues in their speed such as driving too fast or too slow and not being vigilant, such as not noticing when a traffic light changes.
Bastow warned us to reconsider when thinking of driving after drinking an alcoholic beverage, pointing out that people are affected by the drink differently, depending on their own metabolism as well as what was consumed with the drink. Although someone might be under the legal limit, they might still be impaired.
Officer Lukas Gibson talked about how people can also be impaired by the use of drugs, saying a friend of his was killed when the driver of the vehicle he rode in had been using marijuana and wrecked and then fled, leaving his friend in the burning vehicle.
"That is a big topic in this area," Gibson said of drugs such as "meth," which he said is especially prevalent in the Vernon County and a cause of many of the crimes in Nevada. "We do have a bigger problem of methamphetamine than any other town I've seen."
Gibson told us of different drugs such as meth and marijuana and their affects, including sores on the skin, dental decay, respiratory failure, insomnia, hallucinations, nausea and others. Some of the drugs are dangerous even to the manufacturers because of dangerous ingredients, such as ether, lithium batteries; paint thinner, starter fluid and lantern fuel, which can cause explosions.
Gibson, who is a certified meth lab cleaner, said he was even trained in how to manufacture meth in case he comes upon a meth lab where the ingredients will remain a hazard unless the "cooking" process continues.
Each of the drugs Gibson described, though different in make-up, had effects in common and have even led to the deaths of users and others they come in contact with because of their altered state of mind.
"All these drugs are pretty much the same," Gibson said. "And it ruins the body and ruins the person."
Next week, we will participate in the final session of the Citizens' Police Academy and then graduate from the course.