Be a safe and responsible driver this New Year's Eve
We go out to dinner, and we dance and drink our way into the early hours of the next day. Then, we get in our cars and drive home. Far too many just don't make it. They crash into oncoming traffic driven by people who are just as drunk, or into trees and over embankments, ending not only our own lives but those of our partner and even others who have not had a thing to drink.
I won't bother you with statistics because even one such calamity is too many. I always point with pride to the program in my own country of Bermuda that has been long established. Between 3am and 6am on the first day of January, all taxi journeys are free to the passengers travelling to their homes. The country had reached a stage where waking up to the New Year's list of those who died the night before was simply too much to bear. The first year the free taxi program was introduced resulted in one fatal crash, and that was a single vehicle driven by a stupid drunk taxi driver.
Since then the record has been clear of fatal car crashes on this first morning of the year. The combined practise of free taxis and a designated driver who drinks free soft drinks has saved so many lives that it is a prime example of what can be achieved when common sense prevails.
So, drivers, when you leave home tomorrow night to celebrate you may want to remember to take with you a couple of things: Your debit/credit cards, your smart phone, and most importantly, your sense of responsibility and also your common sense.
Drive safely, because the most important thing of all is to return home to those who love and need you.
Have a Happy, Prosperous and Safe 2013!
Copyright (c) 2012 Eugene Carmichael
