By Brittany Woodby

BWOODBY@CULLMANTIMES.COM

It is official. A day after The Times reported an alarmingly high number of car crash fatalities in Cullman County, another wreck victim made this the deadliest year ever on Cullman County roads.

Charlotte Noles, 59, of Arab, was killed when her 2003 Buick left the road and struck a tree on County Road 1805 in Arab, only miles from her home. The wreck happened at 9:40 p.m. Monday. Cullman County Coroner Gary Murphree pronounced Noles dead an hour later.

Noles is the thirty-third person to die in an automobile accident in Cullman County this year. The highest number of crash fatalities the county has ever had was 32 in 2004 and 2006.

“It’s just terrible,” Murphree said. “There are still two months to go this year. I don’t know what we’ll do.”

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Transportation determined Cullman’s automobile fatality rate was 39.91, meaning nearly 4 people per 10,000 people living in the county were expected to die in car wrecks.

The state’s largest counties, Jefferson and Baldwin, each only had one fatality per 10,000 residents.

Murphree said several factors have led to Cullman’s steep fatality rate. One significant factor is an increase in driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“I think there have been a significant number of crash deaths due to alcohol and drug use,” he said. “We’re probably going to see more.”

Cullman County District Judge Kim Chaney said there has been a spike in the number of cases involving people charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances.

“People just don’t think they are going to get caught,” he said. “There are very few people who think about the consequences of driving while under the influence and they’re the ones who have a designated driver.”

Chaney said alcohol is not the only adversary to driving judgement. Drugs and prescription medication can also cause misjudgement behind the wheel.

“A vast majority of the people I see for driving under the influence was cited for being under the influence of any substance that can impair judgement. People just don’t foresee themselves getting caught.”

Driving under the influence in Cullman County comes with a cost. Chaney said first-time DUI charges typically bring along a $600 fine and participation in DUI school. However, first-time DUI charges could result in as much as one year in the county jail.

If someone dies because of drug or alcohol involvement in a wreck, the impaired driver could face a number of vehicular homicide charges.

“That can go anywhere from a murder conviction to lesser included penalties, such as manslaughter, vehicular homicide or criminal negligent homicide,” Cullman County Circuit Court Judge Frank Brunner said. “Manslaughter is acting recklessly, and that’s not hard to prove in a case where alcohol is involved.”

Brunner said manslaughter is a Class B felony and sentences can range from two years in jail to 20 years in jail with a $30,000 fine.

Alabama law determines intoxication as having a blood alcohol content level over .08. Chaney said a BAC level below .08 does not always guarantee release from a DUI conviction.

“It depends on other factors in the case,” he said. “The court could still find you intoxicated if facts indicate otherwise.”

Murphree said the venue for deadly crashes in the county has shifted from the interstate to the county’s rural roads.

“That’s been true lately,” he said. “There for a while last year and the year before there were a large number of fatalities on the interstate between exits 299 and 292. Those have slowed down now and (fatal wrecks) are everywhere all over the county.”

Cullman City Police Chief Kenny Culpepper said he rarely sees any fatal wrecks within the city jurisdiction.

“I think the fatalities inside the jurisdiction are pretty low. Of course, we always try to keep enough of a police presence, especially in areas where we are concerned about speeding,” he said. “We try to get people to reduce speed and to use seatbelts. Those are two big concerns.”

Chaney said his court saw over 19,000 cases involving traffic tickets for speeding, wreckless driving and seatbelt violations.

“Based on statistics, two things you can do to avoid accidents is to not be impaired or distracted, and to avoid tailgating and speeding,” he said. “It’s a lethal combination. If you’re tailgating, you’re too short to give yourself enough time to stop.”

Chaney also said it is crucial for young drivers to stay focused on the roads and not to be distracted.

“Concentrate on what you’re doing, don’t be distracted with cell phones or mp3 players,” he said.

Ultimately, Murphree said many crash victims die because they were not wearing a seatbelt.

“We still have a lot of people not using seatbelts,” he said. “They take it as a personal choice and disregard the law.”

Murphree said he has seen many accidents where the victim could have survived if they had been wearing a seatbelt.

“Judging from the inside of the vehicle they would have lived with a seatbelt on,” he said. “Without a seatbelt they are ejected or hit the highway too hard.”

“Wearing a seatbelt is the one thing people can do to save lives,” Culpepper said. “It might not prevent an accident, but it can keep you from being killed in one.”

Culpepper said the Cullman City Police participate in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Click It or Ticket campaign and over the holidays the city police will join the Alabama State Troopers for their second Take Back Our Highways blitz.

“During the holidays we will have extra officers working with the State Troopers to saturate heavily traveled roads,” he said. “We will take up some of the slack on state roads, like Alabama Highways 31, 278 and 157.”

Regardless of an increased law enforcement presence, Murphree said police are unable to protect drivers on every inch of the road.

“We had so many miles of county roads, it’s impossible to cover them all with patrol units,” he said. “We make the top 10 (in the number of crash fatalities) every year and that’s one top-10 we need to stay out of.”