Although not everyone got the message, it seems more and more
drivers are heeding the warning: don’t drink and drive.
Although not everyone got the message, it seems more and more drivers are heeding the warning: don’t drink and drive.
This year’s Avoid the 13 campaign netted fewer arrests in South Valley and in Santa Clara County as a whole during the beefed-up holiday drunk driving enforcement period that lasted 20 days.
In Gilroy, arrests plummeted by half compared to last year, with just 21 drunk drivers arrested. In Morgan Hill, 36 impaired drivers were caught, compared to 42 in 2001. Countywide, police made 805 DUI arrests this year; the total was 850 last year.
Although when it comes to drunk driving, “any is too many,” the downward trend is heartening. Congratulations to police agencies in South Valley for helping to make area roads safer this holiday season.
But a larger thanks goes to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. This group took rage against senseless deaths caused by impaired drivers and turned it into a force for good. In the space of a few decades, they’ve managed to change public perception about drunk driving. No longer is it a winked-at, joked-about activity; it’s now a shameful mistake. Terms like “designated driver” are part of our vocabulary, and alcohol manufacturers are promoting responsible drinking.
As Corp. Rosa Quninones of the Gilroy Police Department said, “People are starting to realize the horrible consequences of drinking and driving.”
Those consequences range from the mild – financial penalties and the disgrace of an arrest – to the extreme – having to live with killing an innocent person, or people.
Kudos to anyone who designated a driver, encouraged an impaired driver to hand over the car keys, reported a swerving vehicle to the authorities, or called a cab rather than risk driving while intoxicated. Big shifts in societal attitudes are made in small but significant steps like these.
Keep up the good work.
