Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Halloween: Enjoy Responsibly

With RSVPs to costume parties sent back weeks ago, many people are looking forward to the Halloween festivities this coming weekend. There is, however, a serious side to all of the celebrations that will be taking place because some partygoers will end up driving home drunk.

In 2009, there were a total of 108 alcohol-related car accident fatalities out of a total of 334 victims involved in fatal car accidents in Massachusetts. About a third of all people involved in fatal car crashes last year had an illegal amount of alcohol in their system. Nationwide, a driver’s legal limit is having a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at .08 or greater. While 334 victims is a decrease from previous years, it is still much too high to tolerate.

Nearly 50 percent of all fatalities in 2009 across the U.S. on Halloween evening (starting from 6:00pm on 10/31 and lasting until 5:59am on 11/1) involved a driver who had a BAC greater than .08. This is a significant number and we can try to do our part to lower it.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced plans for their Impaired Driving Prevention Campaign running from October 25 to October 31, 2010.  This campaign will hopefully be effective in cracking down on drunk driving incidents surrounding the haunted holiday, while also offering safety tips.

With festivities just days away, please take the time to plan ahead for how to safely get back home after a night out. Here are some ideas on ways to enjoy the trick-or-treat weekend but still stay safe:

• See if you can get a designated driver for transportation. If not, then call for a taxi if you live close by or by using some other mode of public transport

• Don’t even think about driving if you’re “buzzed.” Buzzed driving is still drunk driving

• Try to keep an eye on friends around you to prevent them from driving if they’re not sober enough to do so

• If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to pick up your cell and call 911. You just might save someone’s life

Simply put, if you think you’ve had one too many drinks (or you know that you have), it’s just not worth it. If you choose to drive drunk, you put yourself and everyone else on the roadway in serious danger.

Plan ahead, be safe, and enjoy this Halloween responsibly.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Haverhill Woman Charged in DUI Crash

A Massachusetts woman was charged with driving under the influence of liquor following a car crash at around 1 am yesterday at Kenoza Avenue and Route 108 (Newton Road) in Haverhill, the Eagle Tribune reported.

The alleged drunken driver, Christine Yacubacci, 43, of Haverhill, was making a left from Kenoza Avenue onto Route 108 when she struck another car driven by Lisa Daoust, 39, also of Haverhill.

Daoust had two passengers in the car with her, Paula Perez and Ramon Morales, both 20. Airbags were deployed in both vehicles.

Yacubacci was given a Breathalyzer test, which she failed, police said, resulting in charges for driving under the influence and a marked lanes violation.

All people involved in the crash were taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.