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.