Members of the Rapid City Council were treated to the Rapid City Police Department's drinking and driving education program during a Wednesday afternoon meeting.

Police Sgt. Wayne Asscherick said the presentation has been given to about 800 people - most of them high school students before their school proms - in the past three months. Asscherick hopes it opens people's eyes to some of the things the police department and the community deals with regarding drinking and driving.

"I don't want people to feel like I'm preaching at them. This is information so that hopefully, in the long run, we can make good decisions," he said.

Asscherick said South Dakota consistently ranks among the worst in the nation per capita for driving under the influence arrests. Increased enforcement and education in recent years has helped reduce the numbers locally, he said, but there still is a long way to go to change attitudes about getting behind the wheel while impaired.

Rapid City recorded 1,745 DUIs in 2006, 1,548 in 2007 and 739 DUI arrests so far in 2008. Asscherick said alcohol-related traffic fatalities in the state have also dropped, going from 94 deaths in 2003 to 72 in 2006, and alcohol-related crashes dropped from 1,261 in 2003 to 1,099 in 2006.

Asscherick said improved vehicle safety features and advanced medical technology contribute to more people surviving crashes. However, he noted that surviving an alcohol-related crash doesn't mean the people involved aren't severely affected.

Part of Asscherick's education program includes graphic, almost gruesome, images of fatality crashes and testimonials from maimed survivors of crashes.

The presentation also included an emotional testimony from Cindy Crocker about the pain and suffering she and her children have endured since her husband, Andrew, was struck and killed by a drunk driver in 2005 while he was jogging.

"My children and I have had to deal with a lot of suffering because of the choices made by one individual," she said.

Crocker said people may be tempted at some point to drink and drive, but she urged them not to make the mistake of thinking they are in control and won't hurt anyone. The price of getting behind the wheel is too high, she said.

Asscherick said the support of the city council is important to the police department's efforts to keep intoxicated people off the roads. He said some may have an attitude that the police arrest too many people but that police aren't getting all or even a majority of drunk drivers.

"We are getting a small percentage of the people out there," he said. "They're out there 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We hope presentations like this will help make a difference."

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com