For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 3, 2002
National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month, 2002
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Drunk and drugged driving threatens the safety of millions of
Americans. Reducing the incidence of impaired driving remains one of
our Nation's greatest challenges. As we gather with family and friends
to celebrate this holiday season, I urge all Americans to observe
National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month by making
responsible choices that will help keep our roads safer for all.
Drunk driving accidents take a life every 30 minutes and injure
someone every 2 minutes. In the last 24 months, 41 percent of those
killed in traffic accidents, which is almost 35,000 Americans, have
been killed in alcohol-related crashes. To better protect our citizens
and decrease the number of drunk and drugged driving traffic accidents,
we must work together to educate our communities about the seriousness
of this offense and we must raise awareness of its devastating
consequences.
My Administration supports efforts to save lives and prevent
injuries resulting from impaired driving. The Department of
Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
works with local law enforcement agencies that conduct sobriety
checkpoints and saturation patrols; and it also supports State efforts
to pass legislation that increases punishment for those who drink and
drive.
The NHTSA and its State and local partners are dedicated to
eliminating impaired driving and stopping the associated injuries and
fatalities. The NHTSA's national safety campaign -- You Drink & Drive.
You Lose. -- aims to lower America's impaired driving fatality rate to
less than 11,000 people per year by the year 2005. By providing its
partner organizations with guidance on overcoming this national
challenge, this important campaign is assisting local law enforcement
agencies, community groups and organizations, public health
professionals, and businesses to coordinate and address this vital
issue.
As part of the You Drink & Drive. You Lose. campaign, law
enforcement agencies across the Nation will be out in full force from
December 20, 2002, to January 5, 2003, to stop drunk and drugged
driving. During the holiday season, organizations and citizens
throughout the country also will be working to prevent this deadly
activity by encouraging citizens to choose sober, designated drivers,
keep impaired family members and friends off our roads, report drivers
who are under the influence, and educate young people about safe,
alcohol- and drug-free driving behavior. Through cooperation and
determination, every American can do something to make a difference and
help stop impaired drivers before they harm others.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 2002 as
National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month. I call upon State
and community leaders to join the You Drink & Drive. You Lose. national
mobilization between December 20, 2002, and January 5, 2003. I also
urge all Americans to work to enhance the safety of our Nation's
roadways and protect the well-being of our drivers, passengers, and
pedestrians during this holiday season and every day of the year.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of
December, in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-seventh.
GEORGE W. BUSH
# # #
|