Most have heard the line: “It’s $10,000 for a DUI.” This adage, perpetuated by those working to prevent impaired driving, focuses public attention on the impact driving under the influence takes on the wallet.
Make no mistake: The greater cost of impaired driving is on human lives. Too often, the story that rarely gets told is the impact to victims and their families. This includes irreversible injuries, lost mental capacity or death, and a steep emotional toll that never goes away.
Those costs alone are more than anyone should have to bear. But victims and their families often face crushing financial expenses that linger for years and remind them of the incident every time a bill arrives or they drive past the place where the crash happened.
First come the medical expenses, followed by the cost of counseling – which can continue for the life of the victim or their family members. When a victim is unable to work, there is a loss of economic support — and all too often, the costs of a funeral and burial. Added up, the figures can be staggering and overwhelming.
One important way Georgia helps DUI victims – and victims of all violent crimes in our state – is through the Crime Victims Compensation Program. Created by the state Legislature in 1988, the program can help cover up to $25,000 in medical, mental health counseling, funeral and crime scene sanitization costs, as well as the loss of income, when other resources have been exhausted.
Most of the funding for the Georgia Crime Victims Compensation comes from offenders themselves, whom we hold accountable through fines and fees.
Alcohol-impaired drivers kill an estimated 300 people in our state each year, according to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. During the past fiscal year, claims to our program showed the victim of an impaired driver incurred costs of $36,000 or more – many times greater than what the offender will ever pay. And that’s only the amount of the bills they shared when they filed a claim.
Much more must be done to prevent impaired driving and save precious lives. While we continue innovative approaches to achieve that goal, we also need to work to ensure victims and loved ones know the Victims Compensation Program is here for them.
In addition to financial compensation, our DUI Memorial Sign program reminds everyone of the loss of life that occurs from the decision to drink and drive. If a vehicular homicide is caused by someone driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol on a state highway, the victims’ next of kin can apply for the placement of a memorial at the crash site or in close proximity.
Whenever I meet a victim or a member of their family, I make sure to leave them with one message: Help is here for you. We understand victims of this crime may experience unfathomable pain and loss. We have an amazing staff that not only understands all the resources that may be available, but is trained to help people in every step of the process for applying for financial support thorough the Crime Victims Compensation Program.
Although we will never be able to make a victim or family whole, through this program, we may be able to ease some of the burden people facing the aftermath of crime must deal with for years to come.
Jacqueline Bunn is executive director of the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
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