From day No. 1 of starting this blog I have preached to all that would listen about tailgating responsibly. I would manage to guess that 95 percent of all tailgating incidents that would be classified as “tailgating irresponsibly” are alcohol related. The decisions you make before, during and after the consumption of alcohol make you a responsible tailgater. That includes “buzzed driving”.
Many tailgaters, if they have too many drinks, will give up the keys to someone else. That is a good step. Unfortunately many of those keys are handed to someone who has been drinking, just a little less than the drunk person. The logic is “I am only buzzed so I should be okay to drive”. Sadly, that is not the case.
This summer the Ad Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are asking people to pledge not to drive “buzzed”. The pledge is part of the “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving” campaign, asking drivers to remember that driving impaired under the influence can have the same deadly consequences as driving drunk. Alcohol-impaired driving is one of the deadliest crimes as every 40 minutes someone dies in an alcohol-impaired driving crash. In 2007, 21 to 34 year old drivers accounted for 44 percent of the alcohol-impaired drivers in fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. All of this demonstrates how important it is for individuals to give up their keys to someone who has not had one too many drinks.
I have signed the pledge and would encourage everyone reading this to do the same. It is free, they won’t ask you for an email address and it could go along way to saving a life, possibly even your own.
Sign the “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving” pledge HERE