The number of party busts in Platteville lately has sparked speculation on the drinking problems of Wisconsin. Many feel that the problems stem from our drinking laws. Some feel that college towns like Platteville should offer more non-alcohol related activities for students. Some feel that the fines for underage drinking should be raised. I disagree.

The drinking age varies in European countries, but most, including Germany, are set to 18 years old for the purchase and consumption of hard liquor.
The difference between Wisconsin and Germany, however, is not so much the age we begin drinking, but our driving laws. According to a New York Times article, Wisconsinites can have five DUIs before charged with a felony and have the highest number of binge drinkers among college students. According to Wisconsin’s Web site, www.dot.wisconsin.gov, about 46 percent of fatal traffic accidents and 47 percent of fatal motorcycle accidents are alcohol-related. It’s very clear that most people in Wisconsin don’t even think twice about getting into a car after drinking. I know several people guilty of this myself, and I bet you do too.

Now let’s compare this to Germany.

Germans must be 18 before taking the $1,500-$2,000 driving course, according to www.german-way.com. Training includes conditions like nighttime and autobahn driving and the test itself requires knowledge of the mechanical inner workings of a vehicle. Children under 13 are not allowed in the front seat of any car that has a backseat, seat belts must be worn at all times by everyone and rusty, dented or otherwise unsafe or unsightly vehicles are not allowed on the road.
The drunk driving stipulations are even stricter. Germany has a .08 blood alcohol limit for drunk driving, the same as Wisconsin, but the penalties for breaking the rules are far, far more severe.

Peter Horvath relates his personal experience with German drunk driving laws on howtogermany.com. He was pulled over for drunk driving and immediately lost both his German and U.S. licenses, was taken to the police station and advised to get a lawyer. He was first charged with “willful negligence,” an offense that would be on his permanent record, but a good lawyer managed to get the charge reduced to “simple negligence.” He was required to pay a fine of 1,000 Euros and was suspending from driving for 6 months. Because his blood alcohol level exceeded 1.6 percent per mile, he was also required to complete and pass the Medizinisch-Psychologische Untersuchung. This test included physical aspects such as hand-eye coordination, but also medical and psychological aspects like testing for alcoholism and a mental screening. He spent over 15,000 Euros in the process of retrieving his license, as well as a great deal of time and emotional stress. Horvath concludes that driving is a privilege he will never take for granted again.

If Wisconsin drivers faced these kinds of penalties, would we even think about getting behind a wheel drunk? Maybe a few of us, but I can tell you that in my three weeks of partying and fun in Germany, not one single person ever gave a thought to drinking and driving. There was always, always a designated driver — it wasn’t even a question. This is what our state needs. Higher drinking ages and alcohol-free clubs aren’t the answer; in fact, forbidding drinking only increases the attractiveness of binge drinking as a pastime. The problem isn’t alcohol, it’s the dumb decisions that people make while drinking it. If we had harsher penalties, those dumb decisions wouldn’t even come to mind.