Tag Archives: drunk

General Safety Issues

GET READY FOR DECEMBER – NATIONAL (3D) PREVENTION MONTH

Don’t worry – this doesn’t mean you won’t get to see your favorite movies in 3-D anymore!  The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has designated December as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month.   Additionally, November 29th through January 3rd, 2011,  is known as “Holiday Season Impaired Driving Prevention” time.   This season, NHTSA, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), and the Governors Highway Safety Association, are reminding all drivers to keep the party off the road. 

Impaired driving is one of America’s most-often-committed and deadliest crimes!  In 2009, 753 people were killed in traffic crashes that involved at least one driver or motorcycle rider (operator) with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.  Another eight per cent of the population also admitted to riding in a vehicle with a driver who they thought had had too much to drink.  Although many people have gotten the message loud and clear, there are still millions that just don’t understand that alcohol or drugs and driving just don’t mix – they are a deadly combination! 

Unfortunately, a little holiday cheer can sometimes go a long way.  We all enjoy the holiday saying of “eat, drink, and be merry,” but when partying affects the driver, it can turn a happy time into a nightmare.  Impaired drivers don’t plan ahead and wind up causing unsafe roads for everyone.  Here are some simple tips to avoid a drunk driving disaster (from NHTSA): 

  • Before the festivities begin, plan a safe way home;
  • Designate a sober driver, before drinking;
  • Use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member or use public transportation if you are impaired, so you can get home safely;
  • Don’t hesitate to contact your local law enforcement if you happen to see a drunk driver on the road; (you could save someone’s life);
  • If you know someone who is about to drive while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.  Remember, Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk! 

Drunk driving has serious consequences.  You not only risk killing or injuring yourself or someone else, but also the trauma and costs of a crash or an arrest for driving while impaired can be significant.  Violators often face jail time, loss of driver’s license, higher insurance rates, and other expenses including attorney fees, court costs, car towing and repairs, and lost wages due to time off from work.  Plan before you go out, and remember, whether you’ve had way too many or just one too many, it’s just not worth taking the chance.  Don’t let your 2010 end with an arrest, or worse! 

Source: NHTSA

General Safety Issues

ANOTHER WAKE-UP CALL FOR DUI OFFENDERS

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Recently, a Tarrant County, Texas, jury sentenced a 31 year-old woman to 16 years in prison for being drunk when she caused a collision January 11, 2009, that killed a 20 year-old young man, riding in a small car that was broadsided as she ran a red light, driving at a speed of 70 m.p.h.  In addition, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison for intoxication assault because the driver of the car was permanently maimed.  The driver, who was 21 at the time of the accident, spent 85 days in a Fort Worth hospital and now uses a wheelchair.  He has difficulty speaking; his life has been altered because of the recklessness of someone who had spent the evening drinking at two nightclubs and had a blood alcohol content that was more than twice the legal limit.

The driver of the SUV had no criminal history, but the jury handed down the stiff sentence.  After passing sentence, the District Judge ruled she could serve her two prison terms concurrently.  She must serve at least eight years before she will be eligible for parole.  The prosecutor noted that “if it makes someone think twice about drinking and driving”, that’s fabulous.  (Just seeing the video of this horrible wreck, filmed by the red-light camera, was enough to make you get into the habit of slowing down when you come to an intersection.  It was like watching a race car speed down the street, hitting the victims’ car so hard it just disappeared.)

After the verdict, several family members addressed the woman in the courtroom.  The young man who drove the small car had prepared a montage of pictures shown on a video screen.  It showed him as a young boy, then a strapping young man who joked with friends and family, swam, and played sports.  “Then I met you,” the text on the video said.  Next, were photographs of his mangled car, and breathing tubes he used as he fought for life in an intensive care unit.  The final text said “Don’t forget me,” “because I sure won’t forget you.”

If you go out with friends and have a few drinks, use your head and give the keys to someone else.  We have to be responsible for each other.  Take the keys away when you see someone taking a chance getting behind the wheel!  It may make them angry, but you may keep them from endangering their life, and hurting or killing others.  Lives can be forever changed for the victims of a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The woman who was speeding through a busy intersection will have to live with the guilt associated with her careless act.  Sometimes even nice people make mistakes, and that one will stay with her forever.

Source:
Fort Worth Star-Telegram