Outcry Over Colorado Deaths Ignores Far Greater Threat to Kids: Drunk Driving
20 May 1999
MADD, Michigan Says Outcry Over Colorado Deaths Ignores Far Greater Threat to Kids: Drunk Driving
Public Urged to Show Their Outrage by Marching at State Rally
In Troy on Sunday
TROY, Mich., May 19 -- Americans are still reeling from the
Colorado high school shootings, yet not many realize that the risk of guns in
school pales in comparison to another deadly risk to kids: traffic crashes
involving alcohol.
Michele Compton, MADD, Oakland County chapter administrator, states that
according to a report issued by the Justice Policy Institute, the research arm
of the non-profit Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, the likelihood of a
child being killed at school is nearly one in a million -- but an average of
eight young people die in alcohol-related traffic crashes every day (according
to figures on the MADD, National website). In a typical year (1994) a total
of 2,222 persons aged 16-20 were killed in alcohol-related traffic crashes in
the United States -- the equivalent of every single student in a major high
school.
Compton says, "The public's concern for the children who died in Colorado
is ignoring a much bigger peril to the safety of American kids. As tragic as
the Colorado incident was, if we truly care about kids, let's face up to the
facts about drunk driving. It's killing children every day."
"How many people will ever encounter a gun in school, much less be shot
at?" asks the administrator for one of the state's largest MADD chapters.
"The number is statistically insignificant. But two out of every five
Americans will someday be involved in an alcohol-related crash. That's simply
unacceptable. It's time we started putting pressure on the system to find
solutions to this deadly problem. It's time we started adjusting our
priorities."
Compton said the nation has searched high and low trying to explain what
happened in Colorado. "We've blamed television, video games, parents who
weren't there, classmates who didn't care. But nobody really knows why it
happened. We may never know. What we do know is how to prevent the deaths of
hundreds of young people each year. We need to get drunk drivers off the
road, and we need to educate everyone about this problem. Rather than trying
to fix the psyche of every teenager in the nation, let's take action we know
will work," she challenged.
Compton said public awareness campaigns, tougher laws and stricter
enforcement have brought down drunk-driving fatalities in communities around
the country where citizens demanded action against the problem.
On Sunday, May 23, 1999, Compton says citizens will have just such an
opportunity to take action. Along with state and local officials and MADD
members, the public is urged to take part in the 3rd Annual Broken
Hearts/Broken Dreams March in Troy. The two-mile march through the heart of
the city attracted about 2,000 marchers last year and the organizers are
expecting more this year.
"For too long the drinking driver has made the car the weapon of choice
across this country. It's about time we show people that this community and
state just won't accept putting our children's lives in jeopardy anymore,"
said Compton.
Kenneth La Salle, Ph.D., executive director, MADD, Michigan, emphasizes
the importance of the public joining the MADD march. "We don't have to sit by
quietly and accept loaded drivers turning their vehicles into loaded weapons,
too. Whether it is a stranger or other teens killing their teenage friends
when they get behind the wheel after drinking, we can stop it if we make our
protest outcry loud enough not to be ignored by the legislators, judges, law
enforcement officials and others who can make the needed changes," he said.
For details about the march, contact the MADD, Oakland chapter at
248-623-6233. Anyone seeking drunk driving victim support services can
contact a local chapter or MADD, Michigan at 800-323-6233.