Why do I think New Year's Eve is not only boring, but also
deadly...According to a report released in year 2007 (the latest I could
find) by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
drunk-driving related fatal crashes in the U.S. rise significantly in
the two-week period encompassing Christmas and New Year’s Eve. On
average, there are 36 fatalities on American roadways every day. During
the Christmas season the average rises to 45 daily deaths and jumps to
54 on New Year’s Eve. It seems that long car trips to see family
combined with feasts filled with eggnog and Champagne are the perfect
recipe for drunk driving. And then the, "Let's get drunk it's New Year's
Eve" mentality makes it even worse on December 31st and January 1st.
Even when driving outside of the holiday season the odds that a driver involved in an accident are that he or she had a blood alcohol content over the legal limit about one on five times, which is about the same odds as having your next flight delayed at the airport. Seems to me that alcohol is a deadly problem that the grownups refuse to recognize. It could be that way because society, with media assistance, far more often makes being drunk appear "cute" rather than deadly. The "don't drive if you drink" campaigns are largely ignored by the drinkers since so many are either addicted to alcohol or do not see alcohol as a deadly substance. Too, penalties for drunk driving are laughably lenient.
Deterrents like tickets and jail time for those caught driving while legally drunk aren't working. A first time drunk driving offender averages 87 other undetected drunk driving trips before getting caught. I shake with dread to hear what percentage of those drunks drivers on New Year's Eve drove past me. Fact is, on New Year's Day, alcohol related deaths due to crashes were 150 percent higher than average for the same day of the week during the holiday season.
With car ignition devices available that (judges should make them mandatory for anyone convicted of driving while intoxicated but rarely do) do not allow a car to start when anyone who is driving is legally drunk, much of that carnage could be reduced if that were really the desired outcome. Instead, governments ban the discharge of fireworks on New Year's Eve as being "too dangerous". Yet they wink at the' good ole boy' hobby of soaking the brain in alcohol before driving their vehicle of death.
It's enough to drive a person to drink!
Even when driving outside of the holiday season the odds that a driver involved in an accident are that he or she had a blood alcohol content over the legal limit about one on five times, which is about the same odds as having your next flight delayed at the airport. Seems to me that alcohol is a deadly problem that the grownups refuse to recognize. It could be that way because society, with media assistance, far more often makes being drunk appear "cute" rather than deadly. The "don't drive if you drink" campaigns are largely ignored by the drinkers since so many are either addicted to alcohol or do not see alcohol as a deadly substance. Too, penalties for drunk driving are laughably lenient.
Deterrents like tickets and jail time for those caught driving while legally drunk aren't working. A first time drunk driving offender averages 87 other undetected drunk driving trips before getting caught. I shake with dread to hear what percentage of those drunks drivers on New Year's Eve drove past me. Fact is, on New Year's Day, alcohol related deaths due to crashes were 150 percent higher than average for the same day of the week during the holiday season.
With car ignition devices available that (judges should make them mandatory for anyone convicted of driving while intoxicated but rarely do) do not allow a car to start when anyone who is driving is legally drunk, much of that carnage could be reduced if that were really the desired outcome. Instead, governments ban the discharge of fireworks on New Year's Eve as being "too dangerous". Yet they wink at the' good ole boy' hobby of soaking the brain in alcohol before driving their vehicle of death.
It's enough to drive a person to drink!
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