Combat drunk driving during the holidays
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By: Nancy
Pratt |
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By Nancy Pratt
Staff Writer npratt@xtn.net
After more
than a decade of improvement, deaths in alcohol-related crashes are once again
on the rise, according to federal government figures.
“Tennessee
lost 537 people to alcohol-related crashes in 2001, a five percent increase
over both 1997 and 2000, said East Tennessee public affairs director Don
Lindsey. “Though we’ve lowered the number of alcohol crash deaths since 1982,
we still kill and permanently injure far too many people each year.”
Officials urge
drivers to take steps ahead of time to avoid drinking then driving during
holiday celebrations, and offer ways to take a drunk’s keys.
• If it’s a close friend, try to use a soft, calm approach first.
Suggest to them that they’ve had too much to drink and
it would be better if someone else drove or if they took a cab.
• Be calm.
Joke about it. Make light of it.
• Try to make
it sound like you are doing them a favor. (You are!)
• If it is
somebody you don’t know well, speak to their friends
and have them make an attempt to persuade them to hand over the keys. Usually
they will listen.
• If it’s a good friend, spouse, or significant other, tell them
that if they insist on driving, you are not going with them. Suggest that you
will call someone else for a ride, take a cab or walk.
• Locate their
keys while they are preoccupied and take them away. Most likely, they will
think they’ve lost them and will be forced to find
another mode of transportation.
• If possible,
avoid embarrassing the person or being confrontational, particularly when
dealing with men. This makes them appear vulnerable to alcohol and its effects.
Other
suggestions for a safe holiday are:
• Designated
drivers — arrange for one of the party to enjoy the celebration without
drinking alcohol — and do the driving.
• Take taxis —
a common and very safe way to enjoy the night. Some bars and nightclubs offer
free taxis home for folks who drink too much.
• Stay where
you party — take advantage of parties at hotels or a friend’s home where you
can stay the night.
• Grab a free
ride — some taxis and towing services offer free rides home. The towing
services even take your car home.
• Avoid the
whole problem — plan parties featuring non-alcoholic drinks.
“Alcohol is a
factor in one in five traffic deaths of children,” said national director of
traffic safety policy for AAA, Bella Dinh-Zarr, when
declaring support of the You drink & Drive. You Lose campaign.
State and
local law enforcement agencies will be aggressively working to support the
state’s new campaign by setting up sobriety checkpoints and conducting
saturation and roving patrols throughout
The campaign
is also supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, Mothers Against
Drunk Driving and police agencies around the country.
Dinh-Zarr called for a national
focus on repeat “driving under the influence” (DUI) offenders and those with
high blood-alcohol levels.
For information and suggestions regarding teen drivers visit www.ipromiseprogram.com
Gary
Direnfeld, MSW, Executive Director
I Promise Program Inc.
20
(905) 628-4847
gary123@sympatico.ca
www.ipromiseprogram.com