Lincoln County Victims' Impact Panel

The next Victims' Impact Panel will be held on Tuesday,

July 17, 2012.

See the Schedule page for time and details.

A DUII victims' impact panel is a forum that allows persons who have driven while under the influence of intoxicants (DUII) to come face to face with those who have been injured or lost loved ones due to DUII.

The panel consists of victims who speak about an impaired driving crash in which they were injured, or a loved one killed, and how it has impacted their lives. Studies have shown that victims' impact panels reduce repeat offenses.

The purpose of the panel is to individualize and humanize the consequences of driving under the influence, to change attitudes and behavior, and to deter repetitive driving while under the influence of intoxicants of alcohol and drugs.

The mission of the Lincoln County Victims' Impact Panel is simple:

“To stop the deaths and injuries caused by driving under the influence of intoxicants.”

The speakers at a victims' impact panel have tremendous courage to come and tell such painful, personal stories to a room full of strangers. Research also shows that victims' impact panels can aid in victim recovery. Victims impact panels give victims of drunk driving tragedies a forum to tell their story and allow them to find something positive. By telling their stories, victims can begin to heal.

Panels are held every other month on the third Tuesday at the Lincoln County Courthouse located at 225 West Olive Street in Newport, Oregon. Registration is between 6:00 pm and 6:30 pm. The panel begins promptly at 7:00 pm and ends at 9:00 pm. The $20.00 fee is payable in cash, or a money order payable to “Lincoln County Victims' Impact Panel.”

A FEW STATISTICS

In 2007 alcohol related fatalities were 15,387 which is 37% of all fatalities. Alcohol related fatalities are down by 27% as compared to 1982.

On average, someone is killed by a drunk driver every 40 minutes in the United States.

Each day 36 people die and almost 700 more are injured in vehicle crashes that involve a drunk driver.

On average, a person drives drunk between 200 and 2,000 times before being arrested for the first time.

Half of all teenage fatalities is due to drunk driving.

In 2006, out of 1,746 fatality that included children one out of six was killed by an alcohol impaired driver.

The total cost of alcohol related crashes is roughly $51 billion.

DRUNK DRIVING IS A 100% PREVENTABLE CRIME! Many Americans die each year on our highways because someone had too much to drink.

On weekend nights between 10:00 pm and 2:00 am, it is estimated that every THIRD car has an impaired driver (every fifth car on week nights).

DON'T BECOME A STATISTIC