Athens’ downtown nightlife not only helps the music scene flourish but also makes a great market for the DUI school industry.

The city has four DUI schools, more than any other city in Georgia -minus Atlanta- according to the Georgia Department of Driver Services.

“The DUI industry marched in to swallow the market Athens provides,” said Mike Salck owner and of A-1 DUI and Defensive Driving School, the biggest DUI and defensive driving school in Georgia, with 14 schools.

The University Police Department and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department are cracking down on DUI throughout Athens through random and various checkpoints. In 2008 alone, 207 people were arrested for DUI, according to Officer Darrell Ponder of the University Police.

There is also a more visible presence on holidays, when drinking tends to increase. On St. Patrick’s Day police arrested 63 people for DUI and more than 700 vehicles were stopped, according to Red & Black reports. Those arrested [on St. patrick's Day] will soon be presented with the option, maybe the only option, of taking a course at one of the four Athenian DUI schools, Ponder said.

The punishment

“[After arrest] there are many avenues that a DUI offender might take,” Ponder said. “A DUI is a misdemeanor until their fourth offense, but every time a person arrested for a DUI, punishment can vary from mandatory DUI classes and community service to jail time.”

The course is 20 hours long and costs $280, according to Georgia Department of Driver Services and are licensed by the state.

“The instructors of the courses have to receive a license,” Salck said. “This ensures that all the classes are the same and that the students get the highest caliber of learning and training.”

The classes aim to prevent future offenses by teaching low risk guidelines and helping the students figure out their own level of risk.

Multiple violations require tougher punishments and drivers are placed on a “habitual violation status” upon the fourth DUI offense and a system is placed in their car. In order to start the car they must pass a Breathalyzer test, Ponder said. Failure to pass the test results in another arrest.

“If they take a DUI class or not is up to the judge,” said Susan Poss, a DUI instructor that teaches the Prime for Life class at A-1Athens DUI and Defensive Driving School.

“My class has an average of 15 students and there are always UGA students-an average of three or four,” Poss said.

Staying Safe

Many options are available to prevent partiers from driving while intoxicated and all the dangers that come with it, other than a tag-along designated driver.

On St. Patrick’s Day Daniel Wetmore, was stopped at a DUI checkpoint as he escorted home a handful of downtown fun-lovers. Wetmore is an employee of Zingo, a transportation service steered to cleaning the streets of drunk drivers.

Zingo sends designated drivers, like Wetmore, on scooters that collapse into the trunk of the customers’ vehicles. Zingo drives them to their destination in the customer’s own car.

On the busiest days of the week Zingo gets an average of 10-14 calls a night and over 20 calls during football season, said Wetmore. Zingo’s set price is $20 per ride and two dollars per mile after three miles.

“I’d have to say 80 to 90 percent of our calls are from downtown [ Athens ],” Wetmore said. “I’d say that most people, if Zingo did not pick them up they’d drive home drunk.”

“I probably saved them thousands of dollars and their lives,” Wetmore said from that St. Patrick’s night. “I love my job because I do feel like I’m saving lives.”