Nashville – The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) today announced State Troopers will be out in full force during the Labor Day holiday period. They will join thousands of other law enforcement and highway safety agencies throughout the state and nation as they take part in the Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest crackdown on impaired driving. The Official Labor Day holiday weekend begins Friday, September 4, at 6 p.m. and ends Monday, September 7, at 11:59 p.m.

Tennessee Department of Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell reminded Tennessee motorists that, “Driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state. Yet we continue to see a tragic number of people with debilitating injuries and deaths as a result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for human life must stop. To help ensure that happens, the Tennessee Highway Patrol is dedicated to arresting impaired drivers wherever and whenever we find them.”

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. In Tennessee in 2008, 327 people were killed in crashes where the driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. That is down from 377 people killed in 2007 with a BAC of .08 or higher. Over the 2008 Labor Day holiday, 12 people were killed in 10 fatal crashes on Tennessee roadways, down from 17 people killed on Tennessee roadways in 2007.

Nationwide in 2008, nearly 12,000 people died in highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator with a BAC of .08 or higher. The picture for motorcycle riders is particularly bleak. In fatal crashes in 2007, a higher percentage of motorcycle riders (27 percent) had a BAC of .08 or higher than any other type of motor vehicle driver.

Don't let this be you this labor day

The Tennessee Highway Patrol has hit the highways hard all summer long during the “100 Days of Summer Heat” enforcement campaign. Although the summer season comes to an unofficial close with the Labor Day Holiday, THP’s aggressive enforcement of drunk driving laws won’t end. The THP is teaming up with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and other local aw enforcement agencies across the nation this weekend in the aggressive crackdown on impaired drivers as part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s national campaign called: Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest. The THP enforcement effort will include saturation patrols in high volume and high crash corridors and looking for aggressive and impaired drivers as well as safety belt violators to help prevent serious injury crashes.

“Make no mistake. Our message is simple. No matter what you drive—a passenger car, pickup, sport utility vehicle or motorcycle—if we catch you driving impaired, we will arrest you. No exceptions, No excuses,” stated THP Commander Colonel Mike Walker. “Tennessee State Troopers will be out in force to get more drunk drivers off the road—and save lives that might otherwise be lost.”

While drunk driving has traditionally been viewed as mostly a male problem, data shows that an increasing number of females are being arrested and convicted for driving while impaired. Nationwide, arrests for women driving under the influence increased nearly 30 percent from 1998 to 2007, according to a recent study by (NHTSA). In Tennessee, roughly 18 percent of DUI convictions in 2008 were female and the percentage of female DUI arrests from 2002 to 2008 increased 4.3 percent from 18.5 percent in 2002 to 22.8 percent in 2008.

The national Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest, impaired driving crackdown focuses on combing high-visibility enforcement with heightened public awareness through advertising and publicity.

For more information, visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org

Checkpoints for District 3 during Labor Day Weekend

DIST. 3 NASHVILLE

Friday, September 4:

• DL CHECKPOINT DAVIDSON COUNTY HWY 100 @ NATCHEZ TRACE MORNING
• DL CHECKPOINT HUMPHREYS COUNTY HWY 13 @ DUCK RIVER BRIDGE MORNING
• DL CHECKPOINT MONTGOMERY COUNTY HWY 12 @ JARRELL RIDGE RD EVENING
• DL CHECKPOINT ROBERTSON COUNTY HWY 25 @ HWY 49 MORNING
• DL CHECKPOINT STEWART COUNTY HWY 79 2 M WEST OF HWY 232 AFTERNOON
• DL CHECKPOINT WILLIAMSON COUNTY US 431 @ SR 840 MORNING
• SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT CHEATHAM COUNTY HWY 70 @ SHACKLETT RD EVENING
• SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT DICKSON COUNTY HWY 47 @ MONTGOMERY BELL EVENING
• SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT SUMNER COUNTY HWY 31E @ SHUTES LANE MORNING

Saturday, September 5:

• DL CHECKPOINT SUMNER COUNTY HWY 31E @ TOM BEASLEY EVENING
• SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT WILSON COUNTY US 231 MORNING

Sunday, September 6:

• DL CHECKPOINT SUMNER COUNTY HWY 231 @ HWY 31 EVENING

Monday, September 7:

• DL CHECKPOINT RUTHERFORD COUNTY JOHN BRAGG HWY @ MT HERMAN RD AFTERNOON
• DL CHECKPOINT WILSON COUNTY EAST HIGH STREET MORNING

Labor Day Stats

In Tennessee, there were 10 fatal crashes resulting in 12 deaths, yielding a fatality rate of one death per six hours and thirty minutes.

• 5 crashes were single vehicle crashes; 5 were multiple vehicle crashes.
• Seven of the people killed were vehicle occupants.
• Six of the 7 (86%) were not wearing safety restraints.
• Three of the 7 (43%) were ejected from their vehicle.
• No child passengers requiring child safety seats were killed.Five motorcyclists was killed; 4 were wearing helmets, 1 helmet use is unknown.

FATALITY LOG

Highest Deaths

In 1974, 27 people were killed in Tennessee traffic crashes during the 78-hour Labor Day holiday period; yielding a fatality rate of one death per 2.9 hours.

Lowest Deaths

In 1962, 6 people were killed in Tennessee traffic crashes during the 78-hour Labor Day holiday period; yielding a fatality rate of one death per 13 hours.

About the Tennessee Department of Safety

The Tennessee Department of Safety’s mission is (www.TN.Gov/safety) to ensure the safety and general welfare of the public. The department encompasses the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Office of Homeland Security and Driver License Services. General areas of responsibility include law enforcement, safety education, motorist services and terrorism prevention.

Two people will be testifying before the committee on Lundberg’s behalf. Laura Dial, Executive Director of the Tennessee Chapter of MADD, and Lt. David Corman of the Traffic Section of the Metro Nashville-Davidson County Police Department will be on hand to discuss the legislation’s many benefits.

The bill experienced some resistance in subcommittee last week, when members expressed concern over the ability of sober drivers to take friends home who are drinking, and also regarding sporting events, such as University of Tennessee football games.

Lundberg responded that he was from East Tennessee and understood the concerns, but that safety had to come first. “The bottom line is that this state must reform our drunk driving laws. There must be consequences for irresponsible actions—actions that kill and that put other law abiding citizens in grave danger,” he added.

In 2006, there were 1,287 fatalities on Tennessee roads with 509 due to alcohol-related crashes, a 7.6 percent increase from the previous year. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among persons between the ages of 3 and 33, with 50% of the victims being in alcohol-related crashes. In addition, fifty-two percent of drivers that were involved in alcohol-related fatalities had BAC levels at or above .16.

“Our national highway experts have rightfully pointed out the flaws in our DUI laws. We fall short of half of their recommendations. That is unacceptable. We will work hard to make sure our roads are safer than this,” concluded Rep. Lundberg.

One way MADD is trying to stop drunk driving this holiday season is through their “Tie One on for Safety” campaign. According the the Leaf Chronicle (12.10.07), the Tennessee office of MADD is distributing over 10,000 red ribbons state-wide to raise drunk driving awareness. According to the article, the red ribbon campaign has three stated goals

1. “high visibility of officers, meaning many officers on patrol,
2. sobriety checkpoints
3. and more ignition interlock vehicles, which requires a driver to breathe into a register to prove they are sober before the vehicle can start.”

Goals one and two appear redundant, but that is beside the point. The article does not explain how the display of red ribbons assists in accomplishing the campaigns stated goals.

MADD is a very effective lobbyist group and has helped many states to pass very effective laws to deter drunk driving, especially with repeat offenders. However I am lost on how distributing 10,000 pieces of ribbon for people to put on their cars as “a pledge to drive safe” is a worthwhile effort to reduce drunk driving.

I could only think of one way a ribbon tied to to a MADD supporters car would stop someone from drunk driving –a drunk or soon to be drunk person sees the ribbon on the car, the person knows what the ribbon stands for, and decide not to drive drunk. First, the car and ribbon must be located in a place where drunks or soon to be drunks can see it. Secondly, they must remember (in a drunken state) that the ribbon is reminding them to not drink and drive. And thirdly, the drunk driver must not drive because of the red ribbon. This does not sound like an effective way to deter drunk driving.

These 10,000 ribbon, the transportation for MADD representatives to travel the state for photo ops, the costs of the travel including hotel rooms, meals, gas, etc. is paid for through public donations. MADD’s website it states that “Your donation is used to help fund programs that save lives and prevent injuries every day across our country.” Any reasonable person would have to admit that this red ribbon program has a slim chance to “save lives and prevent injury”.

The red ribbon campaign does raise awareness of drunk driving by getting media attention; the Chronicle’s article seems to be a fluff piece to do just that. The campaign got front page ink; almost 80% of article’ space was devoted to headlines and photo ops. But the article did not give the reader any useful information that actual could reduce drunk driving incidents.

With very little effort, and not using the MADD website, I quickly found the following information.

The May 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) contains an article discussing a study of drunk driving crashes. I narrowed the information presented here to children, since they are “mothers” against drunk driving. This study found the following:

• Of 5,555 child vehicle deaths that involved drunken drivers, 64% happened while the child’s OWN driver was intoxicated

• Most children (under age 15) killed in wrecks involving a drunk driver were unrestrained in a car with someone old enough to be a parent or caregiver

• Less than 20% of the children involved were properly buckled in

The first stat shows that more children are killed in drunk driving wrecks by THEIR driver than a drunk stranger. I think one can assume that children are mainly driven around by their parents or relatives. The latter two facts indicate that we could “save lives and prevent injury” by simply ensuring our children are properly restrained in a vehicle.

Benjamin Radford, author of the book Media Mythmakers – how journalists, activists and advertisers mislead us, “child advocates don’t like to hear (these statistics) because it holds a mirror up to the real perpetrators of the crime.” These facts point to drunk driving parents/relatives that do not properly secure in cars as the main killer of children in drunk driving related car wrecks. Not the partying frat boy, not the underage drinking high school student, and not the scary alcoholic at the end the bar, but someone that knows and loves the child that gets killed. What is the old saying, not to point a finger cause there are three fingers pointing back at you. The distribution of this information and public action on this information could potentially cut the number of children fatalities in drunk driving accidents in half.

I could not find any statistics regarding the success of ribbon campaigns in achieving their stated goals. But I did find numerous ‘red ribbon fund raising events’. One could infer that the red ribbon campaign is just a reason to raise money not awareness. Organizations like MADD must raise money to effectively address their organization’s mission, but fund raising is not a noted objective of the is red ribbon campaign. It is easier and more effective to ask for your participation, which may lead to your donation, than to just outright ask for a donation. It seems to be economics driving the red ribbon campaign, not actively engaging public participation in solving the drinking and driving problem

Again, I am not anti-MADD; they have done a lot to help keep drunk drivers off the streets. I am against this idea that people can change the world through empty actions. The people that tie these ribbons on their cars and think they are helping, when they are doing nothing. Action is non-action as Orwell might say. Our efforts should not be to just raise awareness or raise money, but provide the public the tools and knowledge to eliminate the cause, drunk driving.