BAT VAN: PATROL ADDS ON-SPORT BREATHALYZER IN DWI EFFORT

It is a heavy drinker's nightmare.

He had a few beers -- maybe more than a few -- but he is determined to drive himself home. Take it slow, the drinker tells himself, and you will do just fine.

Looming in the distance is a sobriety checkpoint, where the Missouri Highway Patrol stops every driver to check for licenses and signs of intoxication. It is too late to take a different route; the game is over.

To tip the odd's in the patrol's favor, a new weapon in the fight against drunken driving has been commissioned for the road: a BAT van named for its breath-alcohol-testing equipment.

The van visited Southeast Missouri's Troop E Friday night and early Saturday. Officers used it in an effort to catch drunken drivers headed through Blomeyer junction, the intersection of Highways 77 and 25 between Dutchtown and Chaffee. Ten off-duty highway patrolmen manned the checkpoint.

They arrested three people for driving while intoxicated, detained three minors for underage possession, and arrested one man on a felony warrant for stealing.

Lt. Jim McNiell said the van will be a big help to patrolmen, saving them the time of having to drive suspected drunken drivers for miles so they can take a Breathalyzer test. All processing can be done right at the checkpoint site.

The drunken-driving crackdown is vital, because DWIs were a factor in 9,475 traffic accidents in Missouri last year that resulted in 243 fatalities, 7,603 injuries and more than $825 million in related costs.

All nine highway patrol troops will use the van on a rotating schedule. Its successful trial run was in Hannibal.

Before the end of the year, the BAT van is scheduled to visit every troop in the state. By visiting each troop, the patrol hopes to give troopers the opportunity to become familiar with its equipment, work out any bugs, and give them the opportunity to make suggestions, McNiell said.

At sobriety checkpoints, all drivers are stopped until traffic becomes impeded. If a patrolman suspects a driver has been drinking, he administers a field sobriety test, which includes a few simple examinations of coordination.

If the driver can't complete them, it is on to the van for a Breathalyzer.

McNiell explained that .10 blood-alcohol content is legally drunk in Missouri. A reading can be obtained through testing breath, blood, urine or saliva. Suspected drunken drivers are required to take two tests.

"If they refuse to take a Breathalyzer, their license will be revoked for a year," McNiell said. "And they're still charged with driving while intoxicated. Most first-timers will take the test, but the regulars feel their chances are better if they go to court without the results."

If the driver's BAC is .10 or over, the patrol pulls his license and gives him a 15-day permit. He must ask for a hearing within those 15 days or receive a 30-day suspension.

Last weekend's visit to Troop E was the second time the van has been used in Missouri. Although equipment problems are being worked out, once it is in full operation the patrol will save manhours in checking for drunken drivers.

Without the van, a patrolman must leave the checkpoint to transport the suspect to the local sheriff's department for a Breathalyzer test. With the van, the test is administered at the checkpoint and individuals who are intoxicated are detained inside the van until a patrolman is ready to transport them to the sheriff's department.

Courts have repeatedly ruled the checkpoints are legal if the patrolmen have a tested system of stopping vehicles.

Since the van makes sobriety checkpoints more efficient, the patrol said motorists can expect to see more frequent checkpoints on Missouri highways.