Time to talk to family's teen driver

Drunken driving isn't something most Americans spend a lot of time thinking about - until someone in their family is the victim of an impaired driver.

Sadly, the issue is forced out into the open about every half hour in the United States. According to national statistics, an alcohol or drug-related vehicle crash kills someone every 31 minutes. It's a gruesome clock that just never seems to stop ticking.

The reason drunken driving isn't something we dwell on is that most Americans simply don't do it. There have been plenty of horror stories and advertising campaigns to alert everyone to the dangers of impaired driving.

But apparently not enough. That clock keeps ticking. And this is one of those times of the year when the issue of impaired driving takes on even greater significance. We are entering the school graduation season, a time when people celebrate, and sometimes it's difficult to know when to dial down the celebration, especially for young people.

It's time for a sit-down family discussion with the graduating senior in your family, and here are a few of the things you should point out to that young person eager to get out into the world:

In a typical year, alcohol-related vehicle crashes kill about 17,000 people - more than a third of the total number of highway fatalities.

In a typical year, nearly 1.5 million Americans are arrested for impaired driving, either because of alcohol or narcotics. Still, that's just a fraction of the number of people who have admitted to driving while drunk or high.

In a typical year, more than 200 kids under the age of 14 die in crashes in which the driver has been drinking. Drunken drivers kill about 50 children pedestrians a year.

In a typical year, alcohol-related crashes in the United States will run up a bill of $50 billion-plus in medical expenses and lost productivity.

If the teen you're sitting down with and giving advice to is a boy, explain to him that he's at greater risk than his sister - male drivers involved in fatal crashes tend to be intoxicated at twice the rate of females. But both genders are at risk.

In a typical year, about 16 percent of drivers in the 16-20 age group involved in fatal crashes had been drinking. Males in the 18-20 age group reported driving while impaired more than in any other age group.

With traffic accidents killing Americans at the rate of about 50,000 a year, and more than a third of those crashes involving alcohol or drug use, it would be easy for law enforcement officials to give up, on the theory that people are going to do what they're going to do.

But they don't give up. The campaign against drunken driving ramped up many years ago, and law enforcement agencies and their support groups just keep applying the pressure.

When you read in this newspaper about sobriety checkpoints, or see the roadblocks on holiday weekends, don't think of it as Big Brother stepping on your freedom to do what you want to do, but rather as government taking steps to keep Americans from killing others on the streets and highways.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta keeps track of DUI statistics, and the fact is that whenever a community launches a sobriety checkpoint campaign, local traffic fatalities drop by more than 20 percent.

So, the next time you encounter one of these roadblocks, rather than thinking about a one-finger salute, you might consider thanking the officers who are manning that station.

We're heading into a dangerous time of year, with regard to the potential for impaired driving. Graduations, Memorial Day, Fourth of July - all reasons to celebrate.

Celebrate life, by not drinking and driving. There's no shame in handing over the car keys to the sober member of the party.

May 9, 2008