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"Everything in our lives happens for a purpose and that purpose is to prepare us"
Spencer W. Kimball 

December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month
 
In America, 1.8 million people are injured each year by drunk drivers and 315 people die each week as a result of someone drinking and getting behind the wheel of a car. 

Did you know that 41 percent of all traffic accidents are directly related to alcohol? About 600,000 people a year are injured in alcohol related accidents, every year. Every 30 minutes, someone dies in an alcohol related accident. Every two minutes, someone is hurt, though not fatatlly, in an accident involving alcohol. Almost 50 people a day die from alcohol related accidents. One of them could be you or one of your loved ones, maybe one of your friends.

Each of these accidents is caused by drinking and then driving.


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Impaired Driving Facts

Each year, alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost about $51 billion (Blincoe et al. 2002). 

Most drinking and driving episodes go undetected. In 2001, more than 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics (FBI 2001). That's slightly more than 1 percent of the 120 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year (Dellinger et al.1999). 

To further decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes, communities need to implement and enforce strategies that are known to be effective, such as sobriety checkpoints, 0.08% BAC laws, minimum legal drinking age laws, and "zero tolerance" laws for young drivers (Shults et al. 2001, Shults et al. 2002). 

Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) have been identified as factors in 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. Other drugs are generally used in combination with alcohol (NHTSA 1993). 

Male drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes are almost twice as likely as female drivers to be intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.10% or greater (NHTSA 2003a). A BAC of 0.08% is equal to or greater than the legal limit in most states. 

At all levels of blood alcohol concentration, the risk of being involved in a crash is greater for young people than it is for older people (Mayhew 1986). In 2002, 24% of drivers ages 15 to 20 who died in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking alcohol (NHTSA 2003b ).   

Young men ages 18 to 20 (too young to buy alcohol legally) report driving while impaired almost as frequently as men ages 21 to 34 (Liu 1997).  

In 2002, 22% of the 2,197 traffic fatalities among children ages 0 to 14 years involved alcohol (NHTSA 2003c). 

Adult drivers ages 35 and older who have been arrested for impaired driving are 11 to 12 times more likely than those who have never been arrested to die eventually in crashes involving alcohol (Brewer 1994).   

Nearly three quarters of drivers convicted of driving while impaired are either frequent heavy drinkers (alcohol abusers) or alcoholics (people who are alcohol dependent) (Miller 1986). 

Normally I would not suggest ANYONE send anything to everyone who is listed in their address book, however, these pages contain a message worth passing on. I hope that will share them with as many people as you know.

Does anyone you know thinks it's okay to drink and then get behind the wheel of their car? Do you ever think to yourself, "I'm okay to drive, I've only had a couple of beers"? If you do, you need to read the stories on these pages and pass them on so that others can benefit from the experiences of
other people.

Safety experts estimate that out of every ten people, three Americans will be involved in an alcohol related accident at some point in their lives. I say three is three too many!

If you would like to send an e-mail with a text link to these pages, that link is:

http://www.angelizdsplace.com/drunkdriving.htm

I hope that you will help spread the message!


Personal Stories
On My Site
Stories That Take
You Off Of My Site
Links To Resources

Death Of An Innocent

I went to a party, Mom
I remembered what you said
You told me not to drink, Mom
So I drank soda instead.

I really felt proud inside, Mom
The way you said I would
I didn't drink and drive, Mom
Even though the others said I should

I know I did the right thing, Mom
I know you are always right
Now the party is finally ending, Mom
As everyone is driving out of sight 

As I got into my car, Mom
I knew I'd get home in one piece
Because of the way you raised me
So responsible and sweet.

I started to drive away, Mom
But as I pulled out into the road
The other car didn't see me, Mom
And hit me like a load.

As I lay there on the pavement, Mom
I hear the policeman say
"The other guy is drunk," Mom
And now I'm the one who will pay 

I'm lying here dying, Mom
I wish you'd get here soon
How could this happen to me, Mom
My life just burst like a balloon 

There is blood all around me, Mom
And most of it is mine
I hear the medic say, Mom
I'll die in a short time

I just wanted to tell you, Mom
I swear I didn't drink
It was the others, Mom
The others didn't think.

He was probably at the same party as I
The only difference is, he drank
And I will die

Why do people drink, Mom
It can ruin your whole life
I'm feeling sharp pains now
Pains just like a knife

The guy who hit me is walking, Mom
And I don't think it's fair
I'm lying here dying
And all he can do is stare 

Tell my brother not to cry, Mom
Tell Daddy to be brave
And when I go to heaven, Mom
Put "Daddy's Girl" on my grave.

Someone should have told him, Mom
Not to drink and drive
If only they had told him, Mom
I would still be alive.

My breath is getting shorter, Mom
I'm becoming very scared
Please don't cry for me, Mom
When I needed you
you were always there.

I have one last question, Mom
Before I say good bye
I didn't drink and drive
So why am I the one to die

Author: Unknown

Free Victims Assistance Call Toll Free 
1-866-DUI-HOPE  (1-866-384-4673) 

Jacqueline Saburido
Dominic Joseph Malegni

Below are other stories of the affects drunk driving
can have on our lives.
Jennie
Madd Dad
Stephanie Andring
Victims Of Drunk Driving



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