Every day I am bombarded with comments about guns from those that are for, those that are against, those that want assault weapons banned and not hand guns, those that want all guns banned — oy vey! Stop!
What I don’t hear about is how many individuals and children are taken from us as a result of drunk drivers each year.
“In 2013, a total of 1,149 children age 14 and younger were killed in motor vehicle crashes,” a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study states. “Of those 1,149 fatalities, 200 (17%) occurred in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes. Out of those 200 deaths, 121 were occupants of vehicles with drivers who had [blood alcohol concentrations] of .08 or higher (the legal limit), and another 29 children were pedestrians or pedalcyclists struck by drivers with BACs of .08 or higher.”
And 27 Americans a day die as a result of impaired motorists’ driving, according to advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
With all these statistics, you would think that everyone would be up in arms — sorry about the pun — about how dangerous alcohol is and how we should outlaw hooch. But not a word, not a bully pulpit, not a single catchy phrase or T-shirt, no sit-ins in congress, no politicians banding together to ban the booze. Surprising isn’t it?
Yes, I know we banned the wicked fire-water way back in the 1920s — Prohibition was another amendment that the people clamored for and which banned the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. It was repealed with the ratification of the 21st amendment, which repealed the 18th amendment in Dec. 5, 1933. All these repeals, ratifications, and amendments, and it didn’t help — alcohol is still a big problem, but no one talks about it.
Not for Nuthin,™ as we embark on this three-day national holiday weekend celebrating our independence from Merry Olde England, let’s stop and think about drinking and driving, and how many people are lost each and every year as result.
Happy July 4th to all! Be safe and responsible — don’t drink and drive.
Follow me on Twitter @JDelBuono.