New Year’s traditionally accident heavy, officer warns
by Chris Swinney, reporter

    With New Year’s right around the corner, it is time to celebrate and remember. Families and friends get together and enjoy the happiness of ringing in the New Year.

   However, with these celebrations also come danger and fatalities. These New Year’s parties and celebrations can produce traffic violators and drunken drivers.

   The chances for you or a loved one to be in an automobile accident increases.

   So the question for a motorist to ask himself is “Will I be safe if I drive this New Year’s?”

   Mothers Against Drunk Driving produced two statistical charts in 2001 that show the rate of alcohol-related fatalities for the year and for the New Year’s holiday. In Texas alone in 2001, there were 3,724 total traffic fatalities in the state of Texas. Of those fatalities 1,789 resulted from a driver who had alcohol in his/her system. Thus, 48 percent of the fatalities in Texas were blamed on alcohol.

   The second chart showed the number of traffic fatalities in Texas during only the New Year’s period. On Dec. 31, 2000, there were 82 traffic fatalities, 35 attributed to alcohol. For Jan. 1, 2001, MADD shows 120 traffic fatalities with 66 alcohol-related. 55.1 percent of all traffic fatalities were because of alcohol that day.

   Wade Bowdre, a NW Campus police officer, said he thought alcohol-related traffic violations were higher during the New Year’s and offered advice to celebrators.

   “If you decide to drink, call a cab or have a designated driver take you home,” he said.

   Student Kelly Longton agreed.

   “I think if you drink at all, you should definitely have a designated driver take you home. And I think if you can, you should stay off the roads as much as possible,” she said.

   Another TCC student, Jacob Nichols, offered similar advice.

   “The New Year’s is a dangerous time to be on the roads. If you are driving, crash where you drank or have a friend who did not drink take you home,” he said.

   New Year’s is a time for celebration and good times, but statistics show Texans do not treat those celebrations responsibly.