Keep the Holidays Safe -- and Sober

Alcohol-related highway deaths soar this time of year

TUESDAY, Dec. 30, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Paul Cravens remembers saying something to his wife, Melanie, as they drove beneath an overpass on Albuquerque's Interstate 40 on Christmas Eve 11 years ago. Something about the party at Melanie's mother's house they were driving to, or maybe the city lights. Cravens doesn't recall exactly.

Nor does he remember being slammed about 70 feet later by a drunk driver speeding at 90 miles per hour on the wrong side of the interstate. The driver had already run 40 cars off the road, and for five miles, a police cruiser had been spotlighting the car in an attempt to warn other drivers. Cravens was traveling behind an SUV, though, and didn't see the impending disaster.

Craven's Oldsmobile was hit head-on, slightly off center. His wife died on impact. Melanie's three daughters in the back seat were killed by the force of the front seat ripped from its moorings. Erin was 8. Kandyce was 9 and Kacee, who was not found until rescue workers pried apart the front and back seats, was 5.

Cravens survived, in a manner of speaking. He "died" on the helicopter transporting him to the hospital and was revived only to spend the next several days in a coma. He suffered five broken ribs, a collapsed right lung, a broken elbow, broken wrist and severe brain damage. An electrical engineer, Cravens has had a hard time working in his field since the crash due to his injuries. He is, he says, "a walking miracle."

Drunk driving kills all year long, but the toll can be especially devastating during the holidays. That's why December has been designated National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month by a coalition of organizations coordinated by the National Commission Against Drunk Driving.

"Holidays are a particularly dangerous time of the year because everybody's excited and everybody's celebrating," says Wendy Hamilton, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who herself has lost four relatives, including a sister and an infant nephew, to drunk drivers.

At this time of the year, people are also traveling a lot, adds Bella Dinh-Zarr, national director of traffic safety policy for the American Automobile Association in Washington, D.C.

Overall, there has been a decrease in drunk driving over the last quarter century, but, according to Dinh-Zarr, alcohol is still a contributing factor in 40 percent of highway deaths. "It's still a huge percentage," she says. The percentage spikes around the holidays, says Hamilton, to 52 percent on New Year's weekend.

Here's how to protect yourself and your loved ones this holiday season:

  • If you drink, don't drive. If you drive, don't drink.
  • If you're on the road and see someone driving erratically, slow down and/or move off the road. "It's not worth the extra risk of trying to get somewhere on time if someone is weaving," Dinh-Zarr says. If you think the driver poses a threat, pull over and call the authorities.
  • Always wear a seatbelt, even in the back seat. Dinh-Zarr was 10 years old when the car she was traveling in with her family was hit by a drunk driver. Everyone was wearing a seatbelt and everyone survived. "Had I not been wearing my seatbelt, I definitely would have been killed," she says. If she hadn't been wearing her seatbelt, she also might have caused the death of her parents in the front seat. "If the person in the back is not belted, they increase the risk of death of the front passengers by 500 percent because you act as a missile and cause them to impact the steering wheel," Dinh-Zarr says.
  • If you're partying away from home, make sure you have a designated driver. If not, arrange to stay overnight at a hotel or at your host's home.
  • If you're hosting the party, make sure your guests have a way to get home or can stay overnight if needed.
  • Make sure there is plenty of food available, especially high protein food, Hamilton advises. Also have non-alcoholic beverages on hand.
  • Invite people who get along well together so no one feels isolated. "If they do, they tend to drink more because they are lonely," Hamilton says.
  • Don't serve alcohol 90 minutes before the party ends, Hamilton recommends. Instead, bring out the coffee and dessert.

More information

The National Commission Against Drunk Driving has tips on giving parties this holiday season. For more on impaired driving, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety or Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

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