As Wisconsin bikers say: Be careful riding after 9 p.m., because all motorists are drunk.
These days, motorists are abusing even harder substances. In Madison this year, eight of them have been charged with driving under the influence of heroin or other opiates, according to Lt. Brian Ackeret, head of the Madison Police Department's drug unit. In addition, another person killed a pedestrian in an accident on the city's east side earlier this month after allegedly taking methadone.
Ackeret says the spike in people driving on smack simply correlates to a rise in heroin abuse and addiction.
"Typically drug transactions happen out in the public area," Ackeret says. "It's not uncommon for people who are purchasing drugs to have to travel. And the strong addictive nature of the drug causes them to want to use it immediately."