Nationwide Enforcement Blitz Aims at Drunk Drivers And Deadbeat Drivers
20 November 2000
More than 10,000 Agencies Crack Down On Adults Who Don't Buckle Up Kids and Who Drink and DriveWASHINGTON - For the first time in history this Thanksgiving week, the nation will mobilize in a coordinated effort to protect children from two of the leading risks they face: riding with a drunk driver and riding unrestrained. Law enforcement officers in all 50 states will be out in force ticketing drivers who fail to buckle up their child passengers and arresting drivers found drunk. This year Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is joining forces with the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign (AB&SBSC) to support the law enforcement crackdown, which has in the past focused solely on enforcement of child restraint laws. The Mobilization starts today and continues through the Thanksgiving weekend. "We are shocked by random acts of street violence that take the life of an innocent child. It's time we react with equal concern at the number one killer of our children -- highway crashes," said Jim Hall, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board. "As a nation we should have zero tolerance for adults who risk children's lives by driving drunk or by failing to buckle up the children in their car." Most children who are killed in alcohol-related crashes die at the hands of someone they know. Two out of three children under age 14 who die in crashes involving alcohol are riding as passengers in a drunk driver's car when they are killed, according to research from the Centers for Disease Control. And the more alcohol consumed by a driver-the less likely child passengers will be restrained. "The tragedy is that drunk drivers are often the cause of their own children's deaths," said Chuck Hurley, spokesperson for the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign. The Mobilizations began in 1997 to decrease the staggering number of children who were being killed in crashes each year simply because they were unrestrained. The U.S. Department of Transportation now credits the Mobilizations for contributing to a significant decline in child fatalities and for helping to increase child restraint use. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death to children, killing more than 2,000 children each year. Nearly one-fourth of these deaths are alcohol- related. Six out of ten children who die in crashes are completely unrestrained. "Adults who knowingly put kids at risk by failing to buckle them up are deadbeat drivers; they should be held accountable just like drunk drivers," said Wendy Hamilton, National Vice President of Field Issues for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. "Strict enforcement of drunk driving and belt laws is the best way to protect innocent children and prevent devastating tragedies." Lt. Carl McDonald, whose five-year-old daughter died in a crash while riding with her mother who was driving drunk, attended the national news event to launch the Mobilization. "My daughter didn't have to die," said Lt. Carl McDonald. "She lost her life because her mother broke the law by driving drunk and not putting her in her car seat." Tens of thousands of officers will hit the streets during one of the most heavily traveled holiday weeks of the year to conduct saturation patrols and checkpoints. "Officers across the nation are sending the same message," said Ida Gillis, National President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. "If you put innocent lives at risk by not buckling up kids or by driving drunk, we're going to find you and law enforcement action will be taken against you to protect our children." The number of agencies participating in the twice-yearly Mobilization has grown ten-fold, from 1,000 agencies in 1997 to more than 10,000. Since the Mobilizations began: Child fatalities from traffic crashes have declined by 17 percent, exceeding a 1997 goal set by the Clinton Gore Administration to decrease these deaths by 15 percent by the year 2000. Restraint use for infants rose to 97 percent (up from 85 percent in 1996), and for children ages one to four, it has climbed to 91 percent (up from 60 percent in 1996). The rate of air bag deaths has dropped by nearly 80 percent. National adult belt use has risen to an all-time high of 71 percent. A nationwide survey conducted for the AB&SBSC found that deadbeat drivers who refuse to buckle up children admit themselves that it takes tickets and strong fines to get them to buckle up their child passengers. Similarly, a recent MADD survey of people who drink alcohol found that nine out of ten said losing their license would discourage them from driving after drinking. "We are extremely proud of our progress, but our work is not done," Hurley said. "One out of three school age children between the ages 5 of 15 still ride unrestrained, which means 15 million children are still at terrible risk every day." Coordinated by the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign in partnership with law enforcement, state highway safety offices, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Buckle Up America initiative and the National Transportation Safety Board, the Mobilization is joined this year by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The Mobilization is a part of BuckleUp America, an ongoing national initiative to increase seat belt use and save the lives of Americans. The effort is supported by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs Association, Operation CARE, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and more than 1,000 businesses and community organizations.