Encouraging Numbers

Across the United States, the year-end statistics on violent crime were more encouraging than they have been in a long time. Homicides, rapes, armed robberies, assaults - all were on the decline in 1996, and not just in Mayor Rudy Giuliani's city.

But, although the national crime rate is dropping, one egregious offense persists. On the East End as in other localities hardly a week goes by without a few arrests for drunken driving, usually involving otherwise law-abiding citizens who have no intent to damage property or injure anyone, themselves included. Yet all too often those are the consequences.

Anyone with the ability to obtain a driver's license knows there is a difference between driving sober and taking the wheel after having had a few. High school and college educators, extensive advertising campaigns, and organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving have reinforced the message.

There was a signal last week that their efforts may be bearing fruit, at least hereabouts. New Year's Eve, traditionally the most dangerous night of the year on the roads, came and went without a single driving-while-intoxicated arrest in East Hampton, either in the village or the town, although police had extra patrols on the lookout.

That compares with four arrests a year ago, and four in 1994. Is the difference too small to represent a significant trend? We certainly hope not.