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3D reminds public on availability of designated drivers
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Posted on Dec 12 2004
With many parties to be celebrated in the coming days, especially on weekends, the Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention committee is urging the public to consider calling its Designated Driver program for assistance instead of driving while impaired.
The program, which consists of volunteer designated drivers, is intended to save lives, not only of motorists that would normally drive while intoxicated, but also innocent motorists who abide by the law as well.
“The holiday season is a time to have fun and be happy, not to mourn over a lost loved one,” said 3D vice chair Rose T. Ada-Hocog during an earlier interview.
Ada-Hocog, however, said people calling for transportation would only be picked up and dropped to their homes.
“Our drivers will only pick [intoxicated individuals] from the location they called from, and take them straight home. There won’t be any other destinations or stops along the way,” she said yesterday.
Individuals seeking assistance from the program must contact the Department of Public Safety Central at 664-9001/2.
A uniformed officer will be dispatched to the location of the caller before the individual is picked up by the designated driver. The officer will do a pat down and check the individual to make sure its safe for the designated driver.
Traffic related fatalities in the Commonwealth rose in the past three years, with four recorded in 2002, seven in 2003, and nine so far in 2004. Alcohol related crashes also rose by four percent in the U.S. between 1999 and 2000. On average, about 45 people die each day in the U.S.
Gov. Juan N. Babauta, during a recent ceremony, and DPS commissioner Santiago Tudela, both stressed their support for the 3D campaign, citing the importance to “keep roads safe.”
“Our serious problem every day is drunk drivers who kill our people,” Tudela said. “A drunk driver traveling at 60-70mph is like a stray bullet looking for a target. If it doesn’t get you, and gets the other car next to you, then you’re lucky. Our job at the department is not to make you feel lucky, we want you to be safe every time and everyday you use the highways. If you [drunk driver]continue to drive, we will get you.”
