Most all of us are in the spirit of the holiday season.
There are Christmas parties and social gatherings.
New Year’s Eve is near, and it’s that festive time of each year when we attire ourselves in tuxedos and bowties and those sequin evening gowns to gather with friends to celebrate the holidays.
“Each year we approach the holiday season with the same mentality, and that is to prevent the tragic loss of life on our roadways due to avoidable traffic crashes,” says Col. Freddy L. Johnson Jr., the Cumberland County native who is commander of the N.C. State Highway Patrol. “I am confident that through our enforcement and educational efforts we will continue to save lives.”
But it starts with us.
Drinking and driving is a recipe for what could lead to a fatal vehicle or motorcycle accident, and there are state troopers by the numbers who can tell you the anguish they have come to know when knocking on a door or ringing a doorbell to tell someone a family member was a victim, and alcohol contributed to the deadly collision.
What’s left can be that gift under the tree never to be opened for someone you cherished.
An empty chair at the dinner table.
A New Year’s dance never to be.
Poor decisions and deadly consequences
Local and state law enforcement will be renewing efforts from December 15–January 4 to keep our highways safe and impaired drivers off the roadways.
“Far too often, people make poor decisions that have serious and sometimes deadly consequences,” Mark Ezzell, director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, said in a news release Monday about the holiday “Booze It & Lose It” campaign, a statewide anti-drunk driving initiative, which combines increased public outreach with enhanced law enforcement efforts.
Law enforcement agencies in all 100 counties will step up patrols and sobriety checkpoints, Ezzell said, to catch impaired drivers and get them off the roads before tragedy strikes.
Last year, according to the release, 361 people died in the more than 11,000 alcohol-related crashes that occurred statewide.
Janet Cowell is the mayor of Raleigh, where Monday’s news conference about the holiday “Booze It, Lose It” initiative was announced at the Raleigh Law Enforcement Training Center.
“My cousin was hit by a drunk driver and paralyzed from the waist down 27 years ago,” Cowell said. “I have seen firsthand how this tragic incident fundamentally changed his life and that of the entire family.”
Cowell said she is grateful to the Governor’s Highway Safety Program for focusing on the devastating impacts of driving while impaired.
This holiday “Booze It & Lose It” campaign isn’t about law enforcement folks out there to spoil your holiday party fun. It is about protecting everyone operating a motor vehicle and particularly those who choose to consume too much alcohol and get behind the wheel. Drinking alcohol and driving is a prescription for what may be the potential for a fatal collision.
“The alcohol-related crashes are painful for everyone involved,” Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce said at Monday’s holiday “Booze It & Lose It” media conference, “and they can also be extremely expensive for drivers breaking the law.”
Even a DWI charge, sans an accident, and you could find yourself sitting in a jail, according to the release, a loss of driving privileges, and an average of $10,000 in fines. And that’s not counting legal fees for a lawyer, and attorneys don’t come cheap.
Epilogue
A word to the wise.
Party, if you choose, this holiday season, but be responsible.
Designate a sober driver ahead of celebrations, call a taxi or a ridesharing service, and for the sake of other motorists, pedestrians, and yourself, do not place yourself behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.
“We implore all drivers to practice safe driving habits throughout the holiday season and all year long and work alongside us as we combat the dangers of speeding, reckless driving, and impaired driving,” said Col. Freddy Johnson.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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