It’s not St. Pat’s Day.
It’s not New Year’s Eve.
It’s not Labor Day weekend.
It’s Halloween! And what’s that have to do with the afore listed holidays?
Those holidays are just immediately associated with alcohol consumption. Really, what’s St. Patty’s Day without Guinness and Jamison? And New Year’s just wouldn’t be the same without a midnight champagne toast.
Yet? The single biggest bar night of the year is today: Halloween! After all, we adults get to dress up like we did as children, we get to go have tons of fun with other adults acting like children and that, as you might expect, means many, many Halloweeners (huh huh…I said wiener) means lots of alcohol consumption.
Tonight, with little trick or treaters out, it’s time to be extra diligent while driving. Later, when the bars begin to fill up, THAT is when we all need to be even more aware of others.
Happy Halloween, everyone… and please be safe tonight!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
When a Drunk Driver Isn't Drunk...
As a college intern with the Missouri Division of Highway Safety, I was privileged to work with the DRE (Drug Recognition Expert) training program. To understand what a DRE does and why they're important, let's turn to Hollywood...
A few nights ago, Heather Locklear was picked up on suspicion of impaired driving. She was seen driving, weaving, jerky car movements that are all signs of a DWI. Yet, when the first officer arrived on the scene and gave Ms. Locklear a breathalyzer, apparently she passed with flying colors. Yet, according to reports, when he questioned her, she was incoherent and slurring.
When a drunk driver isn't drunk, what do you do?
This is where DREs come in. DRE is a typical traffic officer with specialized training to spot drivers who are impaired by drugs, not alcohol. They're trained to recognize the effects of narcotics, barbiturates, marijuana, hallucinogens, etc. By using scientific methods like heart rate, pupil size, etc., DREs can then charge a person with impaired driving – even if they blow a .000 on the breathalyzer.
Heather Locklear's recent arrest has highlighted the importance of impaired driving...but even if she's innocent, it brings the crime of impaired driving by drugs to the forefront of the public's attention. Drugged driving can be as harmful as drunk driving and we need to treat it as such.
A few nights ago, Heather Locklear was picked up on suspicion of impaired driving. She was seen driving, weaving, jerky car movements that are all signs of a DWI. Yet, when the first officer arrived on the scene and gave Ms. Locklear a breathalyzer, apparently she passed with flying colors. Yet, according to reports, when he questioned her, she was incoherent and slurring.
When a drunk driver isn't drunk, what do you do?
This is where DREs come in. DRE is a typical traffic officer with specialized training to spot drivers who are impaired by drugs, not alcohol. They're trained to recognize the effects of narcotics, barbiturates, marijuana, hallucinogens, etc. By using scientific methods like heart rate, pupil size, etc., DREs can then charge a person with impaired driving – even if they blow a .000 on the breathalyzer.
Heather Locklear's recent arrest has highlighted the importance of impaired driving...but even if she's innocent, it brings the crime of impaired driving by drugs to the forefront of the public's attention. Drugged driving can be as harmful as drunk driving and we need to treat it as such.
Jarts In The Frozen Food Section
Let's say you're walking through your local supermarket. There, next to the frozen spinach and next to the Tombstone pizzas, you see the old lawn jarts from the 70s. Would you be confused? Amused? Angry that these now illegal "toys" are right there for anyone to grab?
Now, let me take you to two nights ago. My wife and I were grocery shopping at our local Publix. We walked past the cold beer section when, what to our wondering eyes did appear? A giant tub of ping pong balls. Again, what are ping pong balls doing here, in the refrigerated section of a grocery store?
To answer this question, let us first remember our proximity to on of the larges universities in Florida. Then think of misguided college student ingenuity. When college students get bored, they create things. Things like drinking games. Specifically, this thing called, "Beer Pong."
I'll spare you the rules and regs of beer pong, but suffice it to say it's a drinking game. Is there anything wrong with drinking games? Well, yes!
Now, before you get all up in arms, thinking I’m an anti-alcohol teetotaler, stop. Breathe. I'm not anti-alcohol. I do consume alcohol. I do not, however, agree with the whole idea of drinking games.
What's the big deal? Yes, contestants enter the drinking games voluntarily, but they're forced at worst, encouraged at best, to drink more than they might normally consume. That's just not good. Drinking games pushes alcohol consumption in larger amounts than someone may truly wish. Then, with the peer pressure, stigmatization, etc. that other contestants may create when the loser refuses to drink his/her allotted amount, well, again, overconsumption often takes place.
This is why I was really disappointed when I found accruements for drinking games at my local grocer – marketed in a way to encourage drinking games. In essence – marketing (promoting) drinking games.
If you spot something out of the ordinary in your local liquor aisle, you can probably bet it's geared towards some sort of drinking game. I hope food sellers will take notice of the dangerous act they promote and engage in more responsible marketing.
Now, let me take you to two nights ago. My wife and I were grocery shopping at our local Publix. We walked past the cold beer section when, what to our wondering eyes did appear? A giant tub of ping pong balls. Again, what are ping pong balls doing here, in the refrigerated section of a grocery store?
To answer this question, let us first remember our proximity to on of the larges universities in Florida. Then think of misguided college student ingenuity. When college students get bored, they create things. Things like drinking games. Specifically, this thing called, "Beer Pong."
I'll spare you the rules and regs of beer pong, but suffice it to say it's a drinking game. Is there anything wrong with drinking games? Well, yes!
Now, before you get all up in arms, thinking I’m an anti-alcohol teetotaler, stop. Breathe. I'm not anti-alcohol. I do consume alcohol. I do not, however, agree with the whole idea of drinking games.
What's the big deal? Yes, contestants enter the drinking games voluntarily, but they're forced at worst, encouraged at best, to drink more than they might normally consume. That's just not good. Drinking games pushes alcohol consumption in larger amounts than someone may truly wish. Then, with the peer pressure, stigmatization, etc. that other contestants may create when the loser refuses to drink his/her allotted amount, well, again, overconsumption often takes place.
This is why I was really disappointed when I found accruements for drinking games at my local grocer – marketed in a way to encourage drinking games. In essence – marketing (promoting) drinking games.
If you spot something out of the ordinary in your local liquor aisle, you can probably bet it's geared towards some sort of drinking game. I hope food sellers will take notice of the dangerous act they promote and engage in more responsible marketing.
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