(Video by Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)
Twice a day, Larry Berg responds to the sound of a siren coming from his south Anchorage bedroom. He must blow into an alcohol monitor on his dresser and prove to Alaska Pretrail Services and the state that he hasn’t been drinking. If he drinks or misses a test, he’ll go back to jail to await a court hearing for his fourth DUI charge, he says.
The state plans to expand such “24/7 Sobriety” programs to counter alcohol-related crimes.
In this video, Berg describes how his drinking has affected his daily life, his employment and his outlook toward the future – all of which he now realizes he put at risk each of the countless times he drove intoxicated, he says.
Never getting in a wreck, I guess I thought I was invincible. Never even a car accident or anything. I feel fortunate for that. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hurt somebody’s kid. Having kids and grandkids of my own, just the thought of them being in that situation, I can’t believe for all those years that I did keep drinking. I was obviously not in the right state of mind to think it through.
Originally published January 4, 2014 in Anchorage Daily News.