P.L.E.A.D. Walk

Prevention, Legislation, Education and Awareness of alcohol-related Deaths

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Five things anyone can do:

1.  Contact your Representatives and Senators and let them know how you feel.

2.  Support laws and programs that promote early treatment and early prevention.

3.  Make use of the resources compiled at the MADD web site's Activism page, or educate yourself and others by visiting MADD's Statistics page.

4.  Help others understand the serious health and social consequences of alcohol abuse: cirrhosis, cancers of the stomach and throat, Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), domestic violence, traffic fatalities, mental illness, child abuse, and date rape.  The list, of course, goes on and on.

5.  Don't let friends get drunk . . .

As we near the end of our PLEADWALK our desire is that we all continue to contribute toward a change in societal attitudes about alcohol-related deaths, victims and health issues. It seems as a society we have grown accustomed to the way things are and we often feel helpless to do anything. Alcohol-related deaths are widely scattered, so we do not feel the impact as a nation the way we did with an event like 9/11, but the number of alcohol-related fatalities are far greater and they continue to mount day after day. Sadly, these deaths are preventable. Alcohol-related problems know no boundaries of race, age or income and we have found along the way so many that have been affected one way or another. With this in mind, Dale has compiled a "Wish List" to share some of his ideas. It is by no means comprehensive and many of these thoughts have developed from dialogue and feedback. It is one more step to provoke thought, conversation and action.

Wish List:
   o  More extensive driver education for all new drivers, including time management skills, defensive driving techniques and some time behind the wheel wearing Drunk Busters goggles, which imitate impairment of someone with a BAC between 0.08 and 0.15.
   o  National guidelines for road construction and shoulder widths.
   o  Wake up zippers on the edge of roads as well as the center of primary two lane highways.
   o  Appropriate speed limits for road quality and shoulder widths (55 is way too fast on many rural roads).
   o  National guidelines for road construction and shoulder widths.
   o  Lower BAC levels to CDL Standard. In 2001, 35 percent of all traffic fatalities occurred in crashes in which at least one driver or nonoccupant had a BAC of 0.08 or greater.
   o  Increased patrols during peak DUI periods: Friday nights, Saturday nights and holidays.
   o  Mandatory BAC testing for all accidents to provide valuable information on the number of incidents which involve impaired drivers with legal BAC levels. Currently, we have no record of the dangers these lower levels of impairment cause.
   o  National website where law enforcement could post a daily list of the victims and casualties of impaired driving.
   o  Mandatory treatment and counseling for convicted underage drinkers.
   o  Lower BAC levels for repeat DUI offenders, stiffer penalties, longer loss of driving privileges and mandatory treatment and counseling.
   o  Alcohol awareness included in Health curriculums, addressing metabolic differences between males and females, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and health statistics related to alcohol abuse.
   o  Establishments which serve alcohol should be required to post health warnings and a BAC chart showing how many drinks it takes to reach different levels of intoxication for men and women of varying body weights.
   o  Health warning labels displayed in advertisements for alcoholic beverages.
   o  Ban on commercials and advertisements for television programs and magazines with a large under age audience.
   o  Require colleges to implement programs to reduce under age drinking before they receive federal funding.
   o  Alcohol industry should pay a percentage of gross profits toward treatment, including counseling and assistance to victims of drunk driving and their families.

I am aware that some of these goals may seems unrealistic, even unattainable, but after walking nearly six thousand miles I can tell you the only way to get there is one step at a time. Contact us with your ideas, or reservations, to keep the dialogue going.


Dale Swartzentruber

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