" Darn it - I don't know anyone on the list this month...oh well, I have next month. "

" wow! they sure got a lot of my friends this month! "

" I think I've seen this question before, but what about all the out of town drunkards who swerve at an awesome speed 15-20 mph below the limit up and down our roads after "Wine Tasting?" Oh, I forgot, we overlook them because they contribute to the economy. Maybe Napa is advertising, "We won't pull you over if you taste alot of wine." "

" gateonfire,

I don;t think they are ignoring those drivers, I think they are ignoring the area all together.

Have you ever noticed that these check-points are generally in city limits, or just on the out-skirts?

I don't think we'd ever see something like that up on Main Street in St. Helena, or half way down Silverado Trail.

Those who are caught out of town are probably those who are caught inside our city limits.

It's a shame, but I would hope law enforcement would make a bigger presence in the upper valley. "

" once again I will ask why the napa register will not print peoples ages with there names, if that were the case my son would not have had to suffer the embarrassment of his fathers mistakes, do to the fact that they share the same name.. "

" yourmom....while I agree age should be printed, your son's true friends, if he is a clean and generally sober kind of guy, know it wasn't him. Isn't that all that counts? We really only have 3-5 friends we can count on. The rest, I am afraid are just acquaintances. Or so a knowledgeable judge will instruct you when you are called for jury duty. What say you Napa?

PS: sounds like there was an ugly separation......sorry to hear...the innocent are often the victims.

Perhaps reason-nator will chime in!!!!after all it is a new month for the same "O" same "O". "

" No evidence based research proves the lists deter, tons of scientific evidence exist proving "shaming" practices harmful, emotionally abusive, can invoke destructive negative responses in those who internalize shame. One name printed, many hurt. There’s no excuse for driving while under the influence, a better community service would be for the Register to use the space to educate. Many folks don't realize how little it takes to be over the legal limit, it can happen easier than you think. Don't move the car one inch, even if you have no intention on driving, just moving the car a few feet around the corner to park it in a safer place overnight can land you in a DUI checkpoint and not safe. Individuals experience shame, embarrassment, discrimination when derogatory details of personal lives are broadcast. What value is ruining reputations of folks who don't make a practice of drinking and driving, made one bad uncharacteristic mistake, have strong integrity, hard working positive contributors in their community, or anyone’s reputation? Basic civil rights are stripped like sealed records once probation served because now on the web, never sealed, as if a second-class citizen. Data from public records files will be used for secondary purposes that stray far from original public policy purposes for which they were first created, that being government accountability. By whom, for what purpose is anyone's guess, leaving one more vulnerable to social profiling, stigma, discrimination, identity theft, creating barriers to reaching one’s full potential which is in direct conflict with Federal Parity Act and Prop. 63 Mental Health Services Act Anti-Stigma, Anti-Discrimination campaign and countless hours numerous community members devote to implement Prop 63’s recommendations in Napa. Gossip has harmful equally irresponsible consequences. Courts of law exist to judge and hold people accountable. "

" Generally there are a lot of comments about locals being targeted vs. "Wine tasting" folks. Hey NVR who about a breakout on arrest and convictions by city(s) PD, county and CHP within the Napa county and location (which city arrested including rural areas etc.)?

By now most every informed Napan knows that the DUI Checks Points in Napa are funded by a special appropriation; so the question becomes, how effective are they against normal county sheriff and CHP patrols etc.????

Where is reason-ator when I need him now???? "

" jmo, just for you. Everyone else can blame you, since you requested to be reasonated.

This list is GREAT. I just love it.

I think those people who were named after people who got DUIs DESERVE to be punished for choosing parents that would give them that name. They made very poor choices of parents, and deserve to be shamed.

I rode my bike home at midnite. Only one person almost hit me- the one with a blue rectangle next to their ear. Thank goodness they weren't drunk, or else they may have been dangerous.

Until the NapaVal Enquirer prints the name, every day for the whole month, of the people who got cell phone tickets while driving, they really can't claim to be fair and balanced, can they.

Somehow, I suspect the newspaper people HAVE to endanger people as part of their job. They have to use the benefit of modern communication to be more effective at their jobs, so I'm sure it's routine for them to talk on a cell phone as they drive from story to story to be more efficient. Of course, they're just as impaired as a drunk driver while doing so, but THAT'S not important. It's more newswothy to subject DUIs to humiliation while they themselves endanger us as a matter of routine, I suppose.

Really respectable. Blame jmo for getting me started.

Sorry, jmo. I'm trying to be funny, and I hope it comes off that way. "

" Awww common y'all..... Cops know who signs their paychecks...

The financial support from the vintners gets people elected, and those are the people in power who tell the lower echelon not to mess with the tourists...

Nice political world we live in, eh... "

" As for having upvalley checkpoints, it isn't due to a lack of courage or anything like that; it's logistics. A downtown checkpoint means getting a DUI to the jail in under 10 minutes, tops. One at Pope Street & Silverado Trail or Rutherford Cross? Try 40 minutes, and that's just one way. And if the person you're booking for a DUI wants a blood test, that 40 minute time frame just might be the difference between a .08 and a .06 or lower. Plus, what happens if all the cars are delivering DUIs to the jail and you get more? What do the cops do then? Let them sit there & sober up? Let them go? There's no practical solution for that, other than building an upvalley booking facility (oops! no more tax revenue! sorry!)

And in terms of practicality, a DUI can cause more damage on a city street than highway 29 or Silverado; there are more pedestrians, more buildings more closely together...you get the picture.

So what if there are more Napans than "outsiders" on the DUI list? Why should we locals get a free pass? The laws apply to us, too.

As for the folks driving 15-20mph below the limit, most of the folks I've seen doing that on Silverado Trail were just idiots who didn't know where they were going. I can't tell you the number of times I've been stuck behind someone going 40mph on Silverado Trail, slamming on the brakes at every other winery entrance, only to pull over after 10 minutes and start unfolding a map. "

" the NVR monthly list of "Oh look at what so and so did, how horrible!" We all like to point out the faults of everyone else and think about how we are so much better than someone, when the truth of it is no one is any good at all.


SO lets point out some more people so we can all feel just a little bit better.

VP Cheney had two DUIs within a 8 month period
Mel Gibson had one DUI
Warren Moon Had one DUI
All Gore III had one
Matt Roloff had one
Mickey Rourke had one
Heather Locklear had one
Ray Liotta had one
Mike Tyson had one


Oh OH and new addition

Charles Barkley with one



Wooo


Maybe this list isn't doing enough....

Maybe we should require convicted dui offenders to wear a really big red hat everywhere they go so they must constantly live with the guilt, shame, and dishonor.

Lets make it an impossible struggle to live a life of repentance and dignity.

We still have people driving under the influence with the list running so lets step it up.

If we still have people driving under the influence after dui offenders are running around in really big hats then we obviously take the next logical step.


Lapidation on the Copia campus every saturday night. "

" NVR Dan - it these folks' names are left up here for an entire month why not include a real "wall of shame" and add the names of the drug users as well. They're names are in the paper for one day, if at all. Let us know who the real desperados are and not just these poor folks that may have made one mistake in their lives and did nothing wrong other than not use better judgement.

Give us the real addicts and a little symbol next to the name for every occurence greater than 1. "

" selim, let's not bring logic and practicality into this.

Paddy, I hate to say it( yeah, right, sure I can almost hear people saying.... ), but I'm much more comfortable with a drug user staying at home and hurting nobody but themselves than I am with people risking the lives of innocent people on the roads with their negligent driving, whether it be drugs ( which includes alcohol ) or cell-phone pre-occupation.

What I'm not comfortable with is me judging other people. Or judgemental people. Which this shameful shame list encourages. "

" The CHP did a checkpoint on highway 29, just south of Yountville in the middle of October. Out of 400 cars, guess how many were areested for DUI?

Three! And we don't even know if any of them were tourists. "

" Dwayne, you sound like you may be uninformed, but the people that sign the paychecks are the citizens of Napa, your tax money. Maybe you should look into what taxes you pay. "

" Thx reason-ator. I needed a little lift. It is high noon and all is well in Napa. "

" reason-ator - if a drug user is at home than chances are good they're not being busted for a moving violation. If they're busted at home I don't necessarily care if they're included on the 'wall of shame'. If someone is arrested for a traffic stop and have drugs and/or paraphanelia in their car and are arrested for such than they should be on this page under drug influenced driving violator.

The shame-factor of this page has probably kept hundreds off the road knowing they risked making this list. If even one stayed put it's worth it. Though I'd hate to be the guy making that one bad choice and having to live with this. It's a conundrum. "

" Paddy said " The shame-factor of this page has probably kept hundreds off the road knowing they risked making this list."

Seriously ? If so, it kept them from falling off of their flying pigs.

Paddy also said " If even one stayed put it's worth it. "

If that were so, I'd have to ask whether it's worth the damge and loss of loved ones that some may suffer.

Believe me, if I actually thought that a drunk with car keys in their hand could shrug off the thought of killing themselves or someone else, the huge financial losses of a DUI ticket, but INSTEAD think about getting their name in a small town, low-circulation, tabloid wannabe, I'd be in favor of this list.

But in my mind, this list being a demotivator is akin to someone standing on the railing of the Golden Gate bridge, and deciding not to jump because they're not sure if their watch is waterproof. But maybe people are more vain and self-absorbed than I am. "

" TO dan ross,
Just curious why you won't post a comment about a certain person on this list. I commented about a certain gentleman that was not a personal attack or degrading comment and did add constructive dialogue to this story and you didn't post it. DO you not post anything that has to do with a specific person on this list? Just curious "

" "I will ask why the napa register will not print peoples ages with there names."

Why don't we print the date of birth and Social Security number too, while we're at it. Once you start messing with people's privacy, the slippery slope doesn't know where to stop. "

" John Richards,

You left out addresses and phone numbers. "

" Think about it folks! The very FIRST time someone drives drunk can very well be the time they are the cause of a fatal accident that could end the lives of more than one human being.

Personally, I think the list is effective--at least with people who have enough grey matter to stop and think of the "embarrassment factor" before they choose to drive while impaired!! "

" Napan since 1965,

Why do you think that people who DON'T think about killing themselves or someone else, who DON'T think about losing their car, who DON'T think about losing thousands of dollars, and who DON'T think about losing their jobs because they aren't allowed to drive anymore - why do you think those people are smart enough to ( after not thinking about all that other stuff ) are going to think- " Oh, wait, I might get my name in the paper. " ?

Remember, these are supposedly impaired people. I can't believe they're going to think about the most minor of consequences compared to the others. Survival is one of the most basic on human instincts. If they can't think about staying alive, I doubt they're going to think about their name getting in a newspaper- especially if they're from out of town and nobody they know is going to see this paper. "

" To reason-ator- I agree with the others in that the list is a deterrent. I know many who have been in the state of "I just had a couple of glasses of wine during the game and I'm fine" who have chosen to call Black Tie with the fear of potentially making the list... Maybe it is not a thought you have but many do... "

" You'd have to be pretty vain to be more concerned about making the list than getting yourself killed. That sounds unbelievable.

I heard someone at a party once say that he hopes to get his name on the list. We were laughing about the list, and he managed to slur something about hoping they spelled his name right. Since he had already said he had a ride, I have to hope he was joking. But people think about stupid things when they're drunk. "

" People make mistakes. It is what you do in the end that will define you. Learn to love yourself for your faults and you will learn from your mistakes. "

" The list serves as a reminder that we as a society do not approve of DUI, and that is a deterrent to DUI. It is more socially acceptable to have a designated driver (unimpaired) or to call a taxi or limo, and we as a society have decided this, after some 20,000 people a year are killed in MVA EVERY YEAR in the US as a direct result of DUI.
Sorry about a person's SHAME or loss of dignity, but that is self-imposed. If people are talking about you because you were convicted of DUI, and it bothers you, you may think twice about doing it again. And those who are listening to the conversation or taking part in it are only reinforcing society's expectation that our fellow citizens will not drive DUI because it puts you and me and my kids at risk of becoming another statistic.
I do agree that driving while calling/texting and speeding violations should be pubished alongside the DUI list, because those people, too, are putting us all at risk of DEATH or serious permanent injury. "

" steph makes a good point about shaming the guilty parties.

But NOBODY should have to suffer just because someone else with the same name made a mistake.

The reality is that innocent people with absolutely NO connection to the guilty parties are vicitmized. I'm sure the NVR knows that it happens, and that they are negligently causing harm and damage to innocent people. And they also know that they can get away with it because it will be difficult to prove while they can hide behind a cloak of "benefitting the community ".

In a world where we are becoming more and more intolerant of teasing and bullying, the NVR belittles themselves and cause themselves harm because they have a bone to pick.

I know that they have lost subscriptions because of their childish tactics. And credibility. It's the modern newspaper now, where newspapers are losing business and losing face without a clue that they are doing it to themselves. "