Consuming alcohol prior to driving greatly increases the risk of car accidents, highway injuries, and vehicular deaths. The greater the amount of alcohol consumed, the more likely a person is to be involved in an accident. When alcohol is consumed, many of the skills that safe driving requires – such as judgment, concentration, comprehension, coordination, visual acuity, and reaction time – become impaired.

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Drugged driving poses similar threats to public safety because drugs have adverse effects on judgment, reaction time, motor skills, and memory. When misused, prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and illegal drugs can impair perception, judgment, motor skills, and memory.

Our Victim Impact Panel addresses the audience's arrest in a non-judgmental manner and proceeds to educate them about "What is a Drink", setting up a table with mock samples of beer, wine, and liquor.

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DWI Checkpoints
We often participate in DWI Checkpoints. Our presence is an incentive and support to the Law Enforcement Officers who diligently work to insure the safety of our citizens.
Officers target higher traffic areas to reduce and deter incidents of drunken driving. Upon suspicion, the stopped driver is required to exit the vehicle and take a roadside sobriety test that requires the demonstration of both mental and balance skills.

Saturation Patrols
Saturation Patrols are aimed at arresting a greater fraction of DWI offenders in a specific area.
Impact DWI has funded the Santa Fe City Police to support additional overtime officers to do DWI patrols in an areas of high drinking for 4 hours between 10pm and 2am on 16 Friday evenings. Our goal is 1 or more DWI arrest per 4 hour shift.

Impact DWI uses some of the proceeds generated from our Victim Impact Panels to contribute to the purchase of police equipment.

Substance abuse treatment, a common requirement for DWI offenders, can be an extended process with setbacks and relapses because while the individual is healing an alcohol problem, he may still drink and drive.
An ignition interlock provides a safety net to greatly reduce the possibility that such setbacks result in impaired driving by preventing recidivism while treating the underlying problem for the future when the device is no longer present.

However, many people misunderstand addiction, and think of it as a moral failure or a lack of willpower, instead of a complex brain disease, that greatly affects neurotransmission and interactions within reward structures of the brain.
For individuals who seek high quality and effective recovery, there are many personalized treatment facilities located in Santa Fe along with long term support provided by Alcoholics Anonymous who is an international organization for alcoholics that offers mutual support to members to help them overcome their dependency.