Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes.  That is why the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office announced today that they will be out in full force on St. Patrick’s Day cracking down on and arresting drunk drivers. 

“St. Patrick’s Day has become a big night out for many Americans—especially young adults. Because the holiday falls on a Saturday this year, we’ll be working even harder with sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and using undercover officers to get more drunk drivers off the road,” said Sheriff Tommy Whitt. “If we catch you driving impaired, we will arrest you.  No exceptions. No excuses.”

Driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state, but too many are still not getting the message. Sheriff Whitt said that always designating a sober driver before the party begins and never letting friends drive drunk are just two of several simple steps to help avoid a tragic crash or an arrest for impaired driving.

· Plan ahead: Whenever you plan on consuming alcohol, designate your sober driver before going out and give that person your keys;
· If you’re impaired, call a taxi, use mass transit or call a sober friend or family member to get you home safely;
· Promptly report drunk drivers you see on the roadways to law enforcement;
· And remember, Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.  If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.

Drunk driving is simply not worth the risk. Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for driving impaired can be significant. Violators often face jail time, the loss of their driver’s license, higher insurance rates, big attorney fees, unpaid time away from work, and dozens of other expenses.

“No matter what you drive—a passenger car, pickup, sport utility vehicle or motorcycle—if you are caught driving impaired, you will be arrested,” said Sheriff Whitt. “So don’t push your luck this St. Patrick’s Day. Remember, Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.”

For more information, please visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org.

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Son was hit by a drunk driver
written by Concerned Mom, March 16, 2008

My son was recently in an accident. He was driving 56 mph and headed to see his brother. It was a great day. You can't imagine how it felt to get a phone call from him "he was yelling and screaming:
" Mom Mom Mom, Oh God mom I love you Mom, Mommy oh Mommy, (crying and scared) he managed to tell me a car had pulled out in front of him sending his car into a spin and ending up in on coming traffic.

I paniced of course, but tried to calm our son. The car was a project car he and his dad had worked on for 2 years. A special project that he had dreamed of since he was 12 years old. The paint on the car was only 2 weeks old. I know this may not seem important to people cause the ladies insurance company did not care. But I want you to understand what this lady has taken from our son.

With seat belt on and the car a tangled mess our son rolled out of the car and onto the ground. He was able to think quickly to get his car out of the middle of on coming traffic and into the median. People rushed over. Our son was laying on the ground in a ball per the gas station attendant on the phone with me.

I got in my car and headed to the scene. We are blessed to have him unharmed with minor injuries. The largest injury now is that he is afraid to get behind a wheel now.

The person that pulled out was a drunk driver!!!
This person took from our son, his new car, his sense of peace when he drives and throughout the weeks to come......lots of screaming nightmares.

I beg you as a mother, please do not drink and drive. I hope you understand it is not fair to us who are trying to protect our children from those who are careless and have no regard for what it could cause.

I am thankful to God in Heaven that we have our son. I know he was looking out for him. But because of this drunk driver he will never be the same.

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