Main Bullet Points Of Alcohol Awareness Month

April is considered as the Alcohol Awareness Month. This year’s celebration of this event gives more emphasis on alcohol abuse and its direct correlation to drunk driving. Since drunk driving comprises a huge chunk of road fatalities, here are some tips on how to avoid DUI convictions and still have fun drinking:

• Set a plan on how you are going to get home safely. If you plan on drinking at a party or a bar, bring your spouse with you so that you can do the drinking and he or she the driving.

• Make driving arrangements with a friend. Ask him to drive for you after having a blast at a social function. Offer him a soda so that he won’t get bored waiting for you or you can have him come over as soon as you are ready to leave. Make sure you return the favor next time.

• Ask your group to rent a car. If you’re going with a group, discuss among yourselves how you will go about renting a car or a van that will bring all of you safely home. Chipping in would be the way to go if you are to hire taxi services.

________________________________________
We've partnered up with Orange County DUI attorneys to bring you DUI information for Orange County.

Tips To Make This Holiday Season Safe For Everyone

The holiday season is here and that means we're getting close to the new year! This is the time when many people are caught drunk driving. The Stop Impaired Driving website has offered some tips to make this holiday season a safer one for everybody:

-- Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin;

-- Before drinking, please designate a sober driver and give that person your keys;

-- If you're impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation so you are sure to get home safely;

-- Use your community's Sober Rides program;

-- If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don't hesitate to contact your local law enforcement;

-- And remember, if you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.

All of this seems like common sense, but I understand how it can get when you're partying. That's why it's important to create a plan to get home safe even before you head to that party or the club.

Related Post:
Top Five Holiday Behaviors That Can Get You Fired
__________________________________________________
If you've been arrested for a DUI this holiday season, make sure to hire an experienced DUI lawyer in San Diego

Lower the Drinking Age Limit?

Awhile back I wrote about how college students and some presidents of universities have been pushing for the underage drinking limit to be lowered. They believe that a lower drinking limit allows college students to get professional help and reduces their fears of being reprimanded for drinking.

In response to this, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) National President Laura Dean-Mooney said:

“Underage and binge drinking is a tough problem and we welcome an honest discussion about how to address this challenge but that discussion must honor the science behind the 21 law which unequivocally shows that the 21 law has reduced drunk driving and underage and binge drinking.”

Ronald M. Davis, Immediate Past President of the AMA said:

”It is impossible to ignore the scientific evidence demonstrating the dangers of underage drinking. A young adult’s brain is a work in progress, marked by significant development in areas of the brain responsible for learning, memory, complex thinking, planning, inhibition and emotional regulation. If we lower the age at which young adults are legally allowed to purchase alcohol, we are lowering the age of those who have easy access to alcohol and shifting responsibility to high school educators. The science simply does not support lowering the drinking age.”

You may recall that I shared the story of how I started drinking at age 14 and didn't suffer any major problems due to alcohol. Like I said, when I turned 21 having a drink wasn't a big deal. However, I did have a good peer group who didn't abuse alcohol. Sure, I got pretty drunk during college, but I didn't do anything stupid.

I do realize that I may be the exception to the rule. After reading all these statistics on The Toll of Underage Drinking, I wonder if it would be better to just keep the drinking age limit to 21.

What do you think?
____________________________________________
If you've been arrested for a drunk driving, make sure to get counseling from a DUI attorney in San Diego.

Resource: MADD

Photo Credit: Peter Burgess

Drunk Driving Stories: Help Spread the Message

It used to be that I would stay away from many of the bad drunk driving stories in the news. Who wants to read depressing news about a drunk driver who killed someone, right?

Well, my attitude about that has changed over the years. I understand now that sharing these stories may help someone. Who knows...maybe a repeat drunk driving offender could read the story and decide that maybe it was time to make a change. Maybe that story prompted them to really think about their destructive habits.

I think about all of this as I read a news story about Edward Costa, a man who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Alpine. The driver, Travis Weber, has had numerous drunk driving convictions since 1985. Now Weber may spend the rest of his life behind bars.
I think it is so important to share these stories and spread the message about the dangers of drunk driving. It may be even more important to get these stories to repeat offenders in the hopes that maybe it will make them think twice about getting behind the wheel when they're drunk. Even if we got just one person to think about the consequence of their actions...perhaps that could save one or two lives.

If you are a repeat drunk driver here in San Diego who wants to make a change, I recommend checking out these DUI programs for help. You can also ask your San Diego DUI attorney for help as well.

Preventing Drunk Driving: Getting To the Root of the Problem

For the past couple years I've talked about different ways that we could prevent drunk driving. I think it's time to revisit the topic again since the holiday season is here and New Year's Eve is just around the corner. Now more than ever we need to be conscious about the consequences of our actions.

David J. Hanson Ph.D. of Alcohol Problems & Solutions offers some great ideas on the steps we can take to prevent drunk driving. He says:

"For their own safety and that of others, it's important to identify such drivers, remove them from the road, provide effective treatment, and bring about behavior change before permitting them to drive again."

The key phrase here is "effective treatment" because most hard core drunk drivers could care less if their driver's license is suspended or revoked. They will still continue to drive.

Since many drunk driving incidences are caused by repeat drunk driving offenders, we have to get to the root of the problem. We have to offer treatment that changes their behavior. Sure, the courts could implement harsher sentences to get drunk drivers off the streets, but if they're unwilling to make any changes, then harsher sentences really won't work. They're just going to get out of jail and continue their alcohol abuse.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We need to create more awareness about the dangers of drunk driving. We should bring back commercials like this one from the 80's...



=====================
If you need help with your DUI in San Diego, make sure to hire an experienced drunk driving defense attorney...

CHP Steps Up DUI Enforcement During Thanksgiving Weekend

It's Thanksgiving weekend and the holidays are here...and that usually means that there will be more partying and drinking going on.

According to this news piece over at the L.A. Times, the California Highway Patrol has stepped up it's force on the highways by deploying thousands of officers statewide. This enforcement period started this past Wednesday and will be in effect until Sunday night - so expect to see more sobriety checkpoints around San Diego.

During this time of year I get quite a bit of traffic to this blog because people are looking for San Diego sobriety checkpoints. So, let me take this moment to make this public service announcement:

If you drink, don't drive!!

There are services available in San Diego that you can use including Safe Ride Solutions - and let's not forget that there are tons of cabs ready to pick you up if you've been drinking. Ask a friend who doesn't drink to party with you...I'm sure they won't mind tagging along if it means that you won't get behind the wheel.

Let's make this a safe holiday season for everybody!

========
And if, by chance, you do get arrested for a San Diego DUI, make sure to get help from an experienced DUI attorney.
========

Photo Credit: Bart Everson

Drunk Driving (DUI/DWI) Resources

Looking at the stats for this blog, I've noticed that many visitors are seeking information and resources for drunk driving. Recently I've come across some good drunk driving resources and wanted to share them with you...

• The Alcohol: Problems & Solutions website has a section dedicated to drunk driving information including how to prevent drunk driving as well as underage drinking and driving. This is a great site that covers just about every aspect of alcohol.

• The About.com Alcoholism section has a wealth of information including state by state drunk driving laws and tons of articles about the issues of drunk driving.

• Stop Impaired Driving is the headquarters of Impaired Driving National Enforcement Crackdown. This site has communication materials, campaign planners, program resources, and more.

• The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has a section on their website dedicated to providing resources and help for victims of drunk driving.

In addition to the resources listed above, I invite you to read through the archives of this blog as I've written about many other organizations that are committed to providing drunk driving information.

If there is information or resources you'd like to see on this blog, please contact me at duicontent [at] gmail [dot] com.

=====================================
Have you been arrested for a DUI in San Diego? Make sure to hire an experienced DUI attorney to help you with your case!