Mothers Team Up With Law Enforcers

Anthony Fontanelle
August 28, 2007

Drunk driving is no longer as rampant as it was years before. But the number of accidents from drunk driving is still at a very high level. Numerous agencies have already taken steps to curb this hazard. Automakers have been developing gadgetries that will make it impossible for those intoxicated to drive their cars. But there are still a lot of people who think that they can get away with that and have been risking their lives as well as other people as they continue to drive their cars even when they are already drunk.

In an effort to curb this threat to the general public, the Tennessee arm of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, organization has partnered with the Tennessee Governor's Highway Safety Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. The partnership will start with a press conference on the 29th of this month. The news conference will signal the start of the alliance's statewide crackdown on drunk drivers.

During the news conference, the alliance will show the media how they will be going about in their aim to reduce the number of intoxicated in the streets of the state. The advisory posted by MADD reads: "At the press conference, media will have the opportunity to view a mock sobriety checkpoint, which will demonstrate the procedure drivers must undergo when they are stopped at a sobriety checkpoint conducted during the Labor Day crackdown period. The demonstration will include a field sobriety test."

The said news conference is slated to be held at the Tennessee Highway Patrol Training Center at 275 Stewarts Ferry Pike, Nashville, Tennessee. The news conference will be attended by: Glynn Birch, President of MADD; Laura Dial, Executive Director, MADD Tennessee; Kendell Poole, Director of the Governor's Highway Safety Office; Colonel Mike Walker, Tennessee Highway Patrol; Chief Ronal Serpas, Metro Nashville Police Department; Officer Juan Borges, El Protector; and Traci Hughs Jungkhurth, a victim and survivor of drunk driving.

The alliance was formed to combat the nation's most frequently committed violent crime. The number of accidents caused by drunk drivers is still huge and the alliance is aiming to make drivers think twice before driving while intoxicated. Drivers caught driving while under the influence of alcohol will be jailed and the alliance is hoping that this consequence can discourage a lot of motorists from driving their cars while drunk.

Last year, MADD quoted that there have been 408 fatalities in Tennessee caused by accidents involving drunk drivers. In the national level, the number of deaths connected to drunk driving reached 13,500. The number of that surely surpasses the number of Audi exhaust pipes sold in a month. That only shows that the risk is growing and these agencies are doing the right thing of curing the massive problem of the country regarding drunk driving.

According to research, sobriety tests have been known to reduce the number of accidents caused by drunk drivers - more so if these sobriety tests are made frequently and highly publicized. Thus the news conference is a key part in this alliance's goals.

Source:  Amazines.com