Several lives are lost each year due to drunk driving and car accidents. On the MADD website, it stated that in 2007 12,988 deaths occurred from a .08 blood alcohol level or higher. That was out of the total of 41,059 car related deaths in 2007 in the United States. Also on the website, they give more statistics about drunk driving deaths in America. One statistic that stood out to me was that they stated "on average someone is killed by a drunk driver every 45 minutes."
Those statistics are scary. If there are 1,440 minutes in a day, that means on average, 32 deaths occur each day due to alcohol related deaths.
On August 6, 2005 Mark Omo and his friend Chris Pollet were driving down West Ave. in Jackson going home from the local movie theatre. They approached the intersection of Franklin and didn't think twice. They went through the intersection when another car didn't stop and crashed into his car. Mark was killed instantly and Chris passed away shortly after.
The drunk driver who hit them, had no idea on how he got to Jackson. He was from the Detroit area and decided to go for a drive when he had too many drinks. He took the lives of two 19 year olds because he decided to get behind the wheel after drinking.
It is simply amazing on how many people drive while impaired. The Center for Problem Oriented Policing produced an article stating that a recent survey done in the Untied States about 3% of drivers on the road at any give time are legally drunk. "On weekend evenings the number of drunk drivers raises significantly: about eight percent of all drivers have blood alcohol concentrations great than .05, and an additional nine percent of drivers have at least one drink, meaning that on weekends about 17 percent of all drivers are under the influence of at lease some alcohol."
Please think about the other wives, mothers, sisters, brothers, fathers, sons, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandpas, grandmas and friends on the road. Please think of them when you want to drive home after a few drinks. You can always pick up a phone and call someone who you trust or a cab company to take you home.
Me again...
ReplyDeleteDid a test post to *practice* the log-on protocol.
Didn't work the first time. So, I was at the game on Saturday and it is really spectacular to be in the stadium. We are coming to expect more interactive media, however, there is nothing quite like being there. I wonder how reporters can continue to help us *be there*? In the past, it was only words.