'Great Pretenders' Drink Recipes Help Promote Driving Safety During Holidays

DEARBORN Mich., Nov. 23, 2009 -- For the first time, AAA's popular "Great Pretenders Party Guide" is available as a digital publication to help all party hosts plan festive holiday gatherings - including tips on how to help reduce drinking and driving deaths and injuries.

AAA-Diamond rated hotels and restaurants across the area have provided tasty nonalcoholic drink recipes for AAA Michigan's free guide, which traditionally debuts during the year-end holidays. This year's guide includes recipes appropriate for year-round festivities as well as advice on helping party hosts monitor alcohol consumption among guests. Drunken driving continues to be a serious problem on roadways - it is a factor in more than one-third of all traffic deaths.

This year's guide includes nonalcoholic drink recipes from the Saltwater Restaurant, The MGM Grand, Detroit; Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Dearborn; Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, and the 1913 Room, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids.

The digital guide is located at AAA.com/Pretenders.

Recipe cards, which include a nonalcoholic drink and promote the digital guide, are being distributed free at AAA branches in the eight states served by the six AAA clubs in The Auto Club Group (ACG): AAA Chicago, AAA Michigan, AAA Minnesota/Iowa, AAA Nebraska, AAA North Dakota and AAA Wisconsin.

AAA has been a leader in driving safety efforts since its founding a century ago. In addition to its "Great Pretenders" alcohol-awareness campaign, the club is involved in teen driving safety programs, child passenger safety efforts and sponsorship of the School Safety Patrol.

AAA Michigan offers travel, insurance and financial services to more than 1.6 million members in Michigan. It is part of The Auto Club Group (ACG), the largest affiliation of AAA clubs in the Midwest, with approximately 4.1 million members in eight states. ACG belongs to the national AAA federation, a not-for-profit organization with more than 51 million members in the United States and Canada.