UCI student imparts DUI dangers

Newport Beach Police Lt. Steve Shulman has seen a number of horrific accidents in his 26 years in law enforcement.

So when he took his newest post with the department’s Traffic Division almost one year ago, Shulman quickly came to the conclusion that the public needed some serious education about driving under the influence.

UC Irvine student Brandon Akiyama has given Shulman a platform for such an effort. .Two months ago, Akiyama, 21, a member of Sigma Pi fraternity, began looking for someone at the police department who would help him run a drunk-driving prevention program geared toward students.

“I felt we should do something to get the police involved,” Akiyama said. “A lot of people I know drive under the influence.”

After connecting with Shulman, Akiyama used grant money from the California Office of Traffic Safety and designed the “Last Call” DUI prevention program on the UCI campus.

Numerous public safety organizations — including Newport Beach, Irvine and UCI police departments — have signed onto the project, which has also gained the support of the Newport Beach Restaurant Assn. and the Orange County Health Department.

For three days, a mock crash scene was set up against the flagpoles at the center of the school’s campus.

Akiyama and fellow fraternity mate Taylor Lapsys also produced hundreds of T-shirts with part of the grant money.

The designs look like someone is bleeding through the shirt, Akiyama said.

“It’s kind of in-your-face, but kind of cool to wear at the same time,” he said, adding that he hopes when people see the shirts at the local bar scene that they will scare people straight.

The shirts integrate the prevention message with the American Apparel clothing line. Akiyama first got the idea for the shirts from the “Truth” anti-smoking campaigns.

As of Thursday, the group had sold nearly 700 T-shirts at $1 apiece, Akiyama said. That money will either be donated to Mothers Against Drunk Driving or will go toward a non-profit organization that the political science student plans to creat, he said.

Shulman has been stunned and thrilled with Akiyama’s performance and creative approach to engaging with his peers.

“In 30 years, I haven’t seen a reduction in the attitude of the driver in regard to drinking and driving,” Shulman said. “Now, with this student coming forward and wanting to make a difference, I find it a huge step in the right direction.”

Newport Beach Police reported 64 alcohol-related collisions resulting in injury or fatality in 2006, Shulman said.

“Two of those were fatalities, all of which could have been 100% avoided with good judgment,” he said.

“We arrest almost two [suspected drunk drivers] a day,” Shulman said.

In 2005, Newport Beach ranked number one statewide in DUI-related collisions for cities with a population between 50,000 to 100,000 — not a list the city wants to top.

Police arrested 380 drunk drivers that year. In 2006, the number nearly doubled, as police made 597 DUI arrests.

Shulman is in the process of writing another grant that would go into effect at the beginning of October and would provide even more money to educate local drivers and soon-to-be drivers, such as those in high school, about the dangers of drinking and driving.