“Where are you going to school? Ohio?”

“No… Iowa State.”

I’ve had this conversation several times, and I’m sure many of you have experienced the same frustration. It seems like people that aren’t from Iowa, Ohio, or Idaho just can’t grasp the difference between those I-oh…whatever states. You would think that Wisconsinites – residents of a bordering state – might be able to keep Iowa straight in their minds, but I still find myself explaining that I’m in the state with all the corn.

However, Wisconsin is finally starting to take note of Iowa – in a big way.

What could make my fellow Cheeseheads look past the Mississippi far enough to pay attention to this great state?

Alcohol.

Drunk driving, to be specific. You see, drunk driving is a problem so monstrous in Wisconsin that there doesn’t seem to be a solution. And yet, just across the river, here in Iowa, we seem to be well on our way to getting it under control.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 28 percent of 2007’s fatal car accidents in Iowa involved alcohol impairment – second lowest only to Utah, a state in which most residents do not drink.

In Wisconsin, however, drunk drivers were responsible for 41.4 percent of the state’s fatal car crashes.

Does this mean that Iowans drink less than Wisconsinites? Not necessarily. Yes, Wisconsin was the number one state in binge drinking based on data from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance system last year, but Iowa was right on its heels in third.

So what is Iowa doing right?

Well, it’s all about attitude. Where does that attitude come from? Consequences – consequences that implement a sense of responsibility for one’s actions.

We love our beer in Wisconsin – I’m just as proud as the next Wisconsinite of Milwaukee’s great history as a brew city. But with that love of alcohol seems to come an acceptance of drunk driving. It’s a fact of life, and sometimes it’s even a joke.

Sure, we’re told not to do it from a young age. But we learn by example, and the example that we’re given tells us that it’s OK. Unless someone is injured or killed by the act, driving under the influence in Wisconsin elicits a slap on the wrist at best.

As a result of this “scold and sweep it under the rug” policy, people aren’t terribly afraid to drink and drive in Wisconsin. If a person just gets caught, the penalty isn’t likely to be severe. But when things go wrong…

Well, that’s how Wisconsin ends up with one of the highest drunk driving fatality rates in the nation.

What is Iowa doing differently?

Three key things – all being considered by Wisconsin’s Legislature.

First of all, the first offense is a serious misdemeanor. In Iowa, the minimum imprisonment for a first offense is 48 hours, with a maximum of one year – even in cases in which no one was injured. This practice has been in place since 1925.

Second, the third offense is a felony. In contrast, Wisconsin waits until the fifth offense to make this distinction. Repeat offenders are a significant contributor to alcohol-related accidents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “among drivers involved in fatal crashes, those with BAC levels of 0.08 percent or higher were eight times more likely to have a prior conviction for DWI than were drivers who had not consumed alcohol.” Iowa’s possibility of five years in prison makes the chance a lot riskier to take.

Finally, and perhaps the most important, Iowa provides treatment to most three-time and subsequent offenders. These offenders are almost always sent to prison, in which they receive intensive counseling in conjunction with their punishment.

An excellent example of this system is Fort Des Moines. Opened in 1970, this correctional facility began its OWI treatment program in 1987. Before you object to the cost of providing treatment for inmates – the cost of the program is $60 per inmate per day. That’s $20 less than a typical Iowa prison, a result of the $16 per day that inmates must pay to stay in the program.

Surely the cost can’t compare to the potential lives saved by the preventative measure of alcoholism treatment.

How did Iowa become an example for other states in this respect?

We can thank Harold Hughes.

Elected governor of Iowa in 1963, Hughes – a former alcoholic – established a statewide alcohol treatment program, recognizing the importance of treatment in the fight against alcohol-related deaths. In his career as a senator, Hughes sponsored the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1970, which resulted in the creation of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

In part because of the ground broken by Harold Hughes, Iowa’s attitude toward drunk driving recognizes the importance of strict penalties combined with effective treatment.

According to the CDC, 36 people die per day as a result of car crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver.

The state of Iowa is second lowest only to Utah in responsibility for these deaths. This is an honorable achievement, and Wisconsin is right to look to Iowa in its efforts to bring down its own alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Iowa is obviously doing something right.

Thank you, Iowa, for taking drunk driving seriously. Other states, take note.

– Jessica Opoien is a freshman in English and pre-journalism and mass communication from Marinette, Wisc.