Students at LSU are known for their desire to go out and have a good time. Unfortunately, when students go out and drink they often find themselves in the dangerous position to drive home drunk.
Students have numerous options when it comes to getting home safely. Some of these options require planning ahead.
According to the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Web site, out of 875 traffic fatalities in Louisiana in 2002, 413, or 47 percent, were alcohol related.
The University offers students who live close to campus the option of taking the night bus home safely from the bars in Tigerland.
The “drunk bus,” which it often has been called, runs all week long with the exception of Sunday, and is available free of charge to University students.
Eric Reid, University assistant director of Parking, Traffic and Transportation, said the University has provided the night bus for several years now. Students are assessed a bus fee each semester which covers the cost to the University, said Reid. The University contracts the Capital Transportation Corporation to run the bus routes through campus day and night, Reid said.
Sharon Rabalais, operations statistician for the CTC said the bus runs Monday through Wednesday from 6 p.m. until midnight, and Thursday through Saturday from 6 p.m. until 3 a.m. The bus covers roughly the same area as daytime routes. This includes Burbank Drive, Highland Road, Nicholson Drive and Tigerland.
Students leaving Tigerland bars may catch the bus on the corner of Alvin Dark Avenue and Bob Petit Boulevard, Rabalais said.
While the drunk bus is a great opportunity for students to get home safely, some may see the bus as an encouragement for people under 21 to drink illegally and get away with it.
Kathy Childers, Louisiana’s MADD director, said that the organization couldn’t quite comment on the mixed message which the bus puts forth. Childers pointed out that the bus has both positive and negative aspects.
When the project was introduced, MADD remained silent. It was inappropriate for MADD to support the project because it seemed to support underage drinking, but the organization does not object. The buses do get students home safely, Childers said.
Regardless of any negative aspects, many people agree the bus keeps drunk drivers off the roads and gets students home safely.
Driving drunk is not only a matter of life and death, but can also give students a police record and a ticket to top it off.
According to the Louisiana State Legislature’s official Web site, in Louisiana the legal blood alcohol concentration is .08 for those 21 and over, and .02 for those under 21.
If a DUI is issued, a first conviction may cost the perpetrator from $100 to $1000. Higher concentrations of alcohol, .20 or more, will lead to stiffer penalties.
According to Helmut Schneider, University ISDS department chair, East Baton Rouge leads other parishes in DUI arrests for those under 21. In 2002, 186 minors were arrested and convicted in East Baton Rouge Parish.
For students who live farther from campus, taxis are always an option. If a designated driver is not to be found, taxi services are an easy alternative. Some bars will even pay for a student’s taxi if they are unable to drive and do not have enough money to pay for the ride home.
Fred’s Bar and Grill owner Marc Fraioli said that Fred’s will provide a taxi free of charge for anyone who is unable to drive home. A student needs only to approach the bartender and request one, said Fraioli.
Fraioli acknowledged how dangerous driving drunk is and commended the night bus.
“I think that the drunk bus is a great idea, I wish more students would use it,” he said.
According to Rabalais, the bus is being put to good use. During the week of February 6 to 11, the night bus averaged 433 riders a night, with Thursday night recording 1013 riders.
Rabalais said these figures remain relatively consistent, with Thursday night repeatedly recording the highest number of riders.