Hi-tech bus helps catch drunk drivers

With the help of a new $350,000 Breath Alcohol Testing (BAT) bus, police in Lafayette, Louisiana are cracking down on drunk drivers.

With the BAT bus, officers have access to five computer stations, three breathalyzers, and a yellow line on the floor for suspected drunk drivers to walk along.

Last year the Lafayette police arrested nearly 850 drunk drivers and this year the agency is on track to arrest more than 1,000. In the first seven months of 2011 alone, police have arrested more than 700 drivers who were under the influence.

“People can go out and do what they want, but they need to drink responsibly and designate a driver,” said Cpl. Paul Mouton, a spokesman for the Lafayette Police Department. “We want to be known as the city that if you drive impaired in, you will be arrested.”

Mouton went on to say that the Lafayette police hope to see their drunk driving arrest numbers go down.

“We want to see those numbers go down,” Mouton said. “We want to be a visible reminder and constant force to stop people from driving when they shouldn’t be.”

The Lafayette police department only received the BAT bus at the end of July, but the department already has detailed plans for the specialized vehicle.

Officers will use the BAT bus as a mobile base where suspected drunk drivers will be brought after patrol officers have stopped and arrested them to help reduce the time it takes to arrest and process DUIs.

Arresting officers will first conduct a series of sobriety tests to determine if the driver is drunk or not in the field. If the suspect fails those tests, the driver will be taken into custody and brought to the BAT bus where the same tests will be administered as well as a measurement of their blood alcohol level.

The BAT bus has enough room for roughly nine officers and also includes interior and exterior video cameras, computers to research a suspect’s arrest records, and communications equipment to transmit and receive data to the Lafayette police department’s headquarters.

The BAT bus comes as part of a broader effort to reduce drunk driving across the state. In 2010 Louisiana made more than 31,000 OWI arrests and 42 percent of all traffic fatalities involved alcohol.