We are in the midst of the high time for summer travel. And during this time of year, keeping the streets safe for motorists can be a daunting task for police officers.
But with Labor Day weekend a week away, highway and road traffic safety has again risen to the top of police anxieties. Holiday traffic typically raises red flags and puts law enforcement locally and nationwide on highest alert.
We want our local drivers to be cautious when they take to the Jersey Shore and Long Island or make any travel plans in the next few weeks. Heightened awareness on the streets will help to make everyone else safe. But for those who don’t follow the laws, knowingly or unintentionally, the police will be watching and waiting.
Police departments have resumed the driving while intoxicated campaign as the holiday weekend quickly approaches. Locally municipalities will have checkpoints where they will give drivers sobriety tests. Those who fail may spend the night in jail - a sure-fire way to ruin the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
Beefed up patrols here and across the country are part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s initiative to curb drunken driving — "Drunken Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest." The NHTS, directors of the popular Click It or Ticket campaign, might stamp its programs with clever names, but the bottom line is that they’re all business.
All kidding aside, driving under the influence is very serious. According to the stopimpaireddriving.com, a Web site created by the NHTS, "Impaired driving is one of America’s most-often-committed and deadliest crimes." The federal agency’s latest numbers found that in 2004 more than 15,000 people died in highway crashes where the driver’s blood alcohol concentration was above .01. And those deaths involved all types of vehicles.
Still, despite the newer and safer vehicles now on the market, the safest factor in the equation to avoid accidents remain the drivers.
Regardless of experience behind the wheel — you can be a licensed driver for months, years or even decades — alcohol consumed irresponsibly and recklessly has the same harmful effect on people. Casual drinkers, those who might have just one or two drinks, are also at risk. Alcohol doesn’t cast judgement; once consumed, the alteration of brain and motor functions begins.
Most people don’t play Russian Roulette for obvious reasons. Drinking and driving is very similar; eventually someone will lose.
