Coalition encourages extra care on highways during holidays
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The California Coalition for Vehicle Choice (CVCC) is urging Los Altos residents to use extra care on the highways during
the holiday season. Increased travel, inclement weather, and increased alcohol consumption make this time of year especially
risky for motorists.
The CVCC offers a few suggestions to make holiday driving this year much safer:
- Never drive if you have been drinking alcohol. According to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, nearly half the fatal traffic crashes
in the United States involve an impaired driver. Last year in California, 39.7 percent of fatal accidents involved alcohol.
Nationwide in 1994, impaired driving cost 16,589 lives and caused 297,000 serious injuries. You may think it won't happen
to you, but two out of every five Americans will be involved in alcohol-related crashes every two minutes. Often the best
policy is, before you go out, to designate one person as the driver, who will not drink.
- If you have the choice between taking a smaller or larger vehicle, take the larger one. Larger cars provide more protection
to their occupants than smaller cares. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the death rate in the smallest
passenger cars is more than double the rate in the largest.
- If you are hosting friends, be sure to serve food with alcohol and stop serving drinks at least an hour before guests leave.
Also, if necessary, be willing to insist a friend stay the night or take a cab.
- Always wear your seatbelt and place children in safety seats in the back seat. Safety belts and child safety seats double
the chances of surviving a crash and minimizing injuries. In nearly 75 percent of fatal accidents, vehicle occupants are not
using safety belts.
- Use good judgment. Follow posted speed limits, and, if weather has affected road conditions, adjust your speed accordingly.
About 20 percent of all traffic deaths result from exceeding speed limits or driving too fast for road conditions.
"Following this simple advice can literally be the difference between life and death; or between walking away from a crash
and being injured," said Anne B. Solemn, the CCVC coordinator. "I strongly urge all motorists to take these cautions to ensure
their own safety and that of their families, friends, and all others who share the roads."
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