I was working on another post related to drunk driving but saw Blog to Eliminate Drunk Driving's post and thought I'd submit this first. One of the blogs I follow is Blog to Eliminate Drunk Driving. I started following it around the time I signed up for Walk Like MADD. Today's post made me smile. A few weeks ago the topic they blogged about enraged me. I was listening to the radio and listeners were calling in to the radio station letting people know where the DUI check points were. I couldn't believe that the station was supporting this! Why let the drunk drivers know where the check points are? Don't people want them to get caught? Don't we want them pulled over and placed in jail? Don't we want them off our streets so they can't kill us or our loved ones?
But,
Blog to Eliminate Drunk Driving had a much better take on this after they discovered people were tweeting to alert the drunk drivers. Here's their post:August 26, 2009 Twitter Used to Spread the Word about DUI check points In Arizona this past weekend, cops were out doing their job by conducting DUI checkpoints to help deter drunk drivers. That's right, I said deter drunk drivers. Twitter users thought they would give other drivers a heads up, thereby thwarting the officer's efforts. However, what they did was actually help the officers achieve their goal. MADD has long supported high-visibility law enforcement efforts. In fact, it is part of its Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. However, what most fail to realize is t
hat the point of these efforts isn't to catch drunk drivers, but rather to prevent drunk drivers from getting on the road at all. The idea is, if a driver hears about a DUI checkpoint, then they might make safer choices when it comes to drinking and driving. Bottom line: People are less likely to get behind the wheel of a car if the perceived risk of getting caught is heightened and that is a good thing. So tweet away ...I hope that they aren't being naive about this. In a perfect world no one would drive drunk. Not everyone will hear about check points and think, "Hey, maybe I should call a cab or have someone come pick me up." In my opinion most will think, "Great, now I know where not to go so I don't get a ticket or wind up in jail." Of course, they won't be thinking very coherently anyway so let's hope the latter makes more sense in their jumbled drunken mind.
Drunk driving is 100% preventable.For those of you who have followed RMS Snowdrop for a while, you'll know that I've lost two friends to drunk drivers. One was eight months pregnant. I'm all for a night out on the town. But be sensible and get a cab or have a designated driver. It's not usually the drunk driver who is killed or injured; it's the innocent people on their way home from work, the families on vacation, and the mom running out for a gallon of milk.
The next time you want to go out for drinks, please think of your friends, families, the innocent lives you could take, the relationships you'll ruin just for a few hours of a good time.
I would like to encourage you to read this post which I wrote last May just before I did Walk Like MADD Drunk Drivers Killed my Friends. I hope that the story inside touches your heart as it did mine. I just read again and was unable to stop my tears.
I also encourage you to follow Blog to Eliminate Drunk Driving. MADD would love to be out of business. This would mean we've succeeded in clearing the road of drunk drivers and saved the lives of those we love.
Below are more heart wrenching stories of lives permanently changed in the blink of an eye because of a drunk driver's choices:
Dedicated to Save a Life
Parents of Hit and Run Victim are 'numbed'
DWI News Information and News Blog
The Drunk Driving Masses This little boy was killed when he was four months old by a drunk driver. His family was on their way home from having pizza on Thanksgiving. This is the families second drunk driving fatality.
Student Leader, Athlete, Cherished Son and Brother
Killed by an Underage Drunk Driver
Read their stories. There are thousands more like them. Drunk driving is 100% preventable.
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As much as I hate to say it, it is the law that police must inform the press that they have set up roadblocks to catch drunk drivers. But, most of the time, they don't give exact locations, just that there will be roadblocks. I think it's wrong, too. My sister drove drunk and killed herself when she was just 16 years old, so I hate the thought of others driving drunk. She also killed one of the passengers with her.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Mother, I'm so sorry for your loss. I didn't know that it was a law for police to inform the press. It was those out on the road calling into the radio stations that irritated me. But I hope it really does make some change their mind before getting behind the wheel after drinking.
ReplyDeleteThey tend to escape from these problems thinking that resorting to alcohol drinking will do the trick. However, it doesn’t work that way. What they do not understand is that the problem will never get resolved unless you face and address it according to the solution it requires.
ReplyDeleteMy Youth Pro helps parents by guiding their children as a means of preventing underage alcohol use. This is because getting into this activity will result harm to them and this may also affect the dream that their parents have for them. By having this training among our youth workers, the understanding and the knowledge that they will impart to your children in preventing underage alcohol use will be well-delivered. We shape the youth in the best way that they can be. We will constantly remind them of the future that their parents have worked hard for. We will give them the reason to believe in their dreams and that they will strive to achieve them.