YOUNGSTOWN Red ribbons serve as reminder of dangers of drunken driving

Today kicks off MADD's 16th annual 'tie one on for safety' campaign.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Consider this when you see red MADD ribbons tied to car antennas: Last year, alcohol-related crashes over the holidays claimed 2,053 lives.
"If you're drinking five to seven drinks in a two-hour period, you're drinking to get drunk, and that's fine -- as long as you're not driving," said Janet Duricy, president of the Mahoning-Trumbull County Mothers Against Drunk Driving chapter. "We're not mothers against drinking."
Duricy said the 2,053 deaths occurred between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. For all of last year, 17,448 people died in alcohol-related crashes, one person every 30 minutes, she said.
Campaign
Today kicks off the 16th annual MADD ribbon campaign to "tie one on for safety." The idea is to make people aware of the dangers of drinking and driving and, when in doubt, to get a ride, the MADD president said.
Red MADD ribbons have been distributed nationwide to police departments, churches, offices and schools. Gov. Bob Taft was invited to tie a ribbon on an Ohio State Highway Patrol car today in Columbus.
At the Youngstown Police Department, ribbons were given out during officers' roll call for their cruisers.
"It signifies our agency's support of the MADD campaign," Lt. Robin Lees said as he distributed the ribbons. "The ribbons aren't limited to police vehicles -- give some out, tie them to your own cars."
Blood-alcohol content
Duricy provided Lees with an "adult beverage" guide that shows how much alcohol is too much.
A 170-pound man who consumes five drinks in one hour reaches a blood-alcohol concentration of .10, the legal limit. A 137-pound woman who has four drinks in two hours ends up with a BAC of .10.
"People think we target the social drinker. We don't," Duricy said.
She said the push is on nationwide to lower the legal limit to .08.
Impairment, she said, is complete at .08, and a number of people have been killed locally by drivers whose BAC was .08. She said drunken driving is the most often committed crime nationwide.
MADD cautions that responsible party hosts don't let their guests drive home drunk. When the partygoer says, "I'll just have some coffee to sober up," MADD says you should point out that alcohol oxidizes at a rate of about one drink per hour.
Zero tolerance
Lt. Mark Milstead said YPD has increased patrols through New Year's Day and adopted a zero-tolerance policy for those driving while drunk or without a valid license. Officers also will be enforcing seat-belt violations, he said.
Police Chief Robert E. Bush Jr. is allowing officers working the extra patrols to take time off later instead of being paid overtime.
In the first week, the extra patrols made three DUI arrests and eight driving under suspension arrests, issued 23 speed citations and investigated 14 crashes.
meade@vindy.com