AAA Texas Honors Texas A & M for Drinking and Driving Prevention Program; Aggie Students Earn Prize for Developing Life-Saving Program

    COLLEGE STATION, Texas--April 30, 2001--Texas A & M University has been awarded a $1,000 prize for developing a program that helps prevent students who have been drinking from getting behind the wheel of a car.
    The Drinking & Driving Prevention Award will be presented by Anne O'Ryan, Public and Governmental Affairs manager for AAA Texas at the Texas A & M University Student Government Awards Banquet at the Pebble Creek Country Club.
    "Rates of drinking and driving are at levels that raise great concern and are showing notable increases among students who drink," O'Ryan said. "A study by the Harvard University School of Public Health indicated that, in 1996, 36% of students drove after drinking, compared to 32% in 1993."
    "Levels of drinking and driving among binge drinkers are even more pronounced," O'Ryan explained. "Among occasional bingers in the latest survey, 43% drove after drinking; among frequent bingers the level was 59%."
    Texas A & M University is located in College Station, a town centered on the university and its students. Many college-age students drink alcoholic beverages at parties or restaurants then attempt to drive home.
    Carpool is a student-run organization, conceived in November 1998, to give students an option to drinking after driving. Volunteers operate a taxi service on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. The program went into operation Sept. 16, 1999 and on its first night gave 36 rides home. Now, Carpool rarely gives fewer than 100 rides a night, and since its inception has helped more than 10,000 people get home safely. Even though the service was designed for students, the program does not turn away anyone who needs a lift home.
    To address problems associated with drinking among college students, the College and University Drinking and Driving Prevention Award was developed four years ago. The award recognizes campus programs and activities that reduce drinking and driving to prevent alcohol or other drug use that can result in impaired driving.