New Mobile DUII Processing Center Will Speed Police Arrest Time

The MDPC is a 2007 36-foot Winnebago Voyage motor home retrofitted with all the equipment necessary to test and process intoxicated drivers

Photos courtesy: OSP / ODOT

(SALEM, Ore.) - Police and transportation officials in Oregon say the latest tool in the state's toolbox for fighting intoxicated drivers is the new mobile DUII processing center.

It is described as "a police station on wheels" and its mission is to help keep impaired drivers off Oregon highways during special events around the state.

Oregon State Police and the Oregon Department of Transportation rolled out the new DUII center this week.

"Each year there (are) several large public events during which law enforcement agencies work together to increase enforcement presence to reduce DUII-related incidents and crashes," said OSP Superintendent Timothy McLain.

"Depending upon the location of these events, police officers may be tied up for hours transporting and processing an intoxicated driver."

To help bring the necessary equipment and resources to these areas OSP, ODOT, and other law enforcement agencies and partners found what they describe as a creative solution to help facilitate an efficient way to process arrested DUII drivers while getting the officers back on the road quicker.

"This allows law enforcement to bring the equipment necessary to process a DUII offender to the scene of the offense instead of the other way around, which can sometimes take up valuable time," said Troy E. Costales, ODOT's Safety Division administrator.

"Trained DUII officers can be back on the road removing dangerous drivers much quicker when they can use the MDPC."

The MDPC is a 2007 36-foot Winnebago Voyage motor home retrofitted with all the equipment necessary to test and process intoxicated drivers including three Intoxilyzer Model 8000 breath-alcohol testing equipment, three work stations with laptops and printers, and two temporary holding cells.

The unit also includes emergency supplies, cell phones and radio communications equipment. Purchased by OSP through a grant from ODOT's Transportation Safety Division, the MDPC cost $171,000 and is available for use by all law enforcement agencies in the state.

"The value of this new mobile processing center will greatly enhance law enforcement's ability to process intoxicated drivers, especially at events and remote areas where there is a vital need to get officers back on the road to help prevent DUII-related crashes and incidents," Superintendent McLain said.

Police say that nationwide in 2006, more that 13,400 people were killed in traffic crashes that involved at least one driver or a motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent or above. They say Oregon experienced an increase in fatalities resulting from crashes involving an intoxicated driver in 2006, even though total fatalities from vehicle crashes for the year were down.

In 2005, 36 percent of all crashes in Oregon involving fatalities had alcohol as a factor. In 2006, that percentage jumped to 41 percent.

Between 2000 and 2005, OSP troopers arrested more than 30,000 DUII drivers. More than 20,000 DUII drivers are arrested each year in Oregon.