Stop drunken driving

A Spectrum, by Dr. Robert Braun Jr.

This week marks the start of the 2001 holiday season, a time of the year for family get-togethers, good food, fellowship and gift giving. Unfortunately, it also means a large increase in drunken-driving deaths due to holiday celebrations and parties. In fact, from Thanksgiving until New Year's Day more drunken-driving deaths occur than in all of the other observed holidays combined.

Nationwide, in the last five years, 67,753 alcohol-related traffic deaths occurred. Alaska alone had 181 alcohol-related traffic deaths during this time. The bitter truth and the heart-wrenching tragedy for the surviving loved ones of those killed is that these deaths could have been prevented had those drivers waited until they were sober enough to drive safely or had a sober driver take them home.

Drunken driving is an issue no one likes to dwell on, particularly at this festive time. But drunken driving is a problem that can touch any one of us at any time. When drunken drivers take to the road, they not only place themselves at risk, but everyone on the road in jeopardy as well.

In addition to the physical and emotional damage inflicted as a result of their reckless behavior, they place an undue financial burden on the community in the form of court costs, emergency services costs, repair of public property, increased insurance rates and more. That adds up to a lot of money that has to come out of everyone's pocket at tax time -- money that can be better spent.

What can you do to help? Most importantly, don't drink and drive. Encourage responsible driving behaviors among your family, friends and coworkers. You can do this by volunteering to be a designated driver, riding home with a sober driver, staying put until you are sober and able to drive safely or by using an alternative method of transportation, such as a taxicab.

Support your local and state law enforcement agencies' efforts to rid the roads of drunken drivers. Encourage their continued, vigorous enforcement of drunken-driving laws by use of dedicated drunken-driving task forces and the use of state-of-the-art breath-alcohol testing technologies.

Join others in making your voice heard in opposition to drunken driving. An easy way to start is to visit the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Web site at www.madd.org or call 1-800-GET-MADD.

There is never enough help, and never too many voices when it comes to saving lives. Make yours count!

Dr. Robert Brown Jr. is a forensic toxicologist from Dallas, Ga.