December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month

During 2004, alcohol-related motor-vehicle crashes resulted in 16,694 deaths in the United States, accounting for 39% of all traffic fatalities.

Can you imagine that?  16,694 deaths from drunk driving! That's three times as many people killed every year as were killed on 9/11, and Americans killed in the Iraqi war so far.

Deaths from terrorism are minute compared to the slaughter on our highways, and yet what does our President and Vice President focus on, being convicted drunk drivers themselves?

How many dollars do breweries and distillaries contribute to politicians to get favorable consideration when legislation proposed to limit drunk driving is being debated?

Friends, this holiday season you don't need to worry about being killed by terrorists or hurricanes or tornadoes, but you do need to worry about your being killed by your drunk neighbor, buddy, or perhaps, if you are a kid, a relative.

December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month (3D Month). During 2004, alcohol-related motor-vehicle crashes resulted in 16,694 deaths in the United States, accounting for 39% of all traffic fatalities. This amounts to one alcohol-related death every 31 minutes (1). Moreover, approximately 21% of all crashes that killed children aged <14 years in 2004 were alcohol-related (1), and nearly two thirds of children killed in alcohol-related crashes were in the same car as the drinking driver (2).

Link: Notice to Readers: National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month --- December 2005.