MARYSVILLE – Many people’s lives have been impacted by a drunken driver.

A friend of mine was soon after high school graduation by one.

Stacey McShane, who spoke Thursday to the Marysville Police Citizens Academy, had a cousin killed by a drunken driver. Instead of going to his high school graduation, she went to his funeral.

And MPD Comdr. Wendy Wade shared that her father died when she was in her teens because he was drunk.

The topic of the evening was Impaired Driving. Officer Brandon Lawrenson, who led the seminar, repeatedly asked participants to contact their legislators because the laws in this state are weak. “Give me better tools to work with,” he said many times.

He added that people can be convicted five times in 10 years before drunken driving is considered a felony.

“That should piss you off,” he said. “We don’t take it seriously.”

McShane is the director of SnoCo Target Zero, a coalition of agencies and 15 police departments determined to rid society of the DUI plague.

She said last year 40,200 people died in car crashes nationwide. That’s the same number of people who could have died if a large plane crashed every week for a year. Imagine the outrage about airplane safety if that happened. She asked then why is it OK for cars? Concerning her cousin, Nick, he was at a pre-graduation party at a trampoline park in 2010. He left with some friends and the car broke down on the freeway. They called 9-1-1 and were talking to the State Parol when a car plowed into them. The offender had multiple DUIs. He went to prison, but got out early last fall. He was arrested for DUI again in December, but got out in 30 days. Now he’s out “driving a three-thousand-pound weapon” again, she said.

McShane shared more sobering facts.

•In 2015, there were 23,485 DUI arrests, actually down 10,000 from 2011. There were 1,400 crashes countywide.

•Statewide there were 258 deaths; five in Snohomish County.

•94 percent of all accidents are caused by human error; 30 percent of deaths are from impaired driving.

•Traffic deaths nationwide are up 5,000 though lower gas prices mean more people are on the road.

Not all of the impaired driving talk was about alcohol. Distracted driving, such as texting, also is a huge concern.

McShane said it takes about five seconds to look at a text. On the freeway, that can mean not paying attention for 100 yards, a football field. What’s worse, is it can take 27 seconds to refocus on driving after looking at a text. That’s a lot of time not to be able to pay attention to other drivers on the road.

McShane said she recently questioned some students if their parents text while driving. All most all said yes.

“I know what I’m doing,” they tell the kids. But if they did, they wouldn’t be doing it, she added.

McShane said her program targets certain areas and gathers police from all over the county to arrest DUI offenders. They are especially busy around holidays and festivals. She had one funny story to tell about a Halloween arrest.

“He was falling down drunk” at only .09 blood alcohol content. The legal limit is .08. “But he already had a prison suit on” for his costume.

Lawrenson said it’s a common misconception is that a person can’t be arrested if they are below the legal limit. “I can arrest you if you .02” if it looks like you are driving impaired, he said. “Some people if they are .08 are on their lips, hammered,” if they don’t normally drink.

Some people have more tolerance for alcohol than others. “I’ve seen someone walking and talking at .5,” he said, adding the highest BAC he’s had on an arrest was a .425, “and they weren’t driving that bad.”

Lawrenson, who has made 582 arrests for impaired driving, said he looks at all the evidence before making an arrest.

At a DUI stop, he first asks for license, insurance and registration. “If they’re impaired that will be hard for them,” he said.

The driver will then be asked to perform field sobriety tests, which include standing on one leg and walking and turning. But the most accurate test is the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus – the involuntary twitching of the eyes as they move left to right.

“You cannot fool HGN” no matter how tolerant you are to alcohol, he said.

Lawrenson said some people do have medical conditions making it hard to do the tests.

“But if you’re impaired you’re coming with me,” he said. “We’ll sort that out later. You may not be charged with a crime, but they may re-evaluate your license.”

Also at a DUI stop, the car is impounded. “The car goes to jail for twelve hours,” Lawrenson said.

Regarding her dad, Wade said her dad and mom used to drink in the car.

“That’s what they did back in the ’70s,” she said.

He had a BAC of .25 when he hit a semi truck at died. “We know better now,” she said. “Don’t hurt your family, or someone else’s family.”