Some tips on avoiding drunk drivers this season:

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DaniJude
You're My Home <3

Member since 11/06

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Name:
Danielle

Some tips on avoiding drunk drivers this season:

This is going to be such a Debbie Downer post so please forgive me but if I do NOT post this and then something happens to one of you or your family members, I'll never be able to forgive myself!

As a few of you may know the work that I do sometimes includes anti-DWI enforcement, education, and initiatives. I have made it my mission since my brother was struck by a drunken driver back in 2008 to try and promote positive change. Part of what I do is educate the average person on a few things they can do to possibly avoid being hit by a drunk driver -- and that may very well save their life. So, if I am able to do that and another innocent person doesn't have to suffer the way my brother and family has suffered, I consider that the silver lining to what we have been through.

Last night there was yet another fatal DWI crash out in Shirley. We also had another that was not reported publicly yet in Nassau County. Now I don't want to sound gloom and doom but here are some things I tell people to keep in mind, in order to keep themselves and their loved ones they are traveling in cars with safe (all the time) but especially at the holidays...

A few pointers/tips for you and your family:

*RE: Wrong-Way DWI Crashes: If you are driving on a road with more than one lane of travel going in the same direction... So, for example, the Northern State Parkway (2 lanes, each way) or the Long Island Expressway (4 lanes, each way)... STAY OUT OF THE LEFT LANE OF TRAVEL. This is especially true at night and once it reaches midnight - 5am, each hour, it is even more crucial that you stay far away from that left lane. I recommend the right lane - as far away as possible. WHY? Every single one of the cases I have seen involving a *fatal* WRONG WAY drunken driver was a case where the victim (who was killed) was traveling in the LEFT LANE of traffic -- so, the drunk motorist, was driving the wrong way in the innocent victim's left lane. Experts think the drunk driver does this because they think, in their inebriated state, that YOUR left lane is actually their left lane... because many of them THINK they are headed in the right direction, which is so scary.

*RE: Cross-over / Head-on Drunk Drivers: When there is a single lane of travel going in each direction and nothing separates you from the cars on the other side of the road other than a single or double yellow line, BE EXTRA FOCUSED AND EXTRA VIGILANT. Many times, because the motorist is intoxicated, they see the headlights in oncoming traffic and are attracted to those headlights, causing them to cross the divider/yellow lines and crash into an oncoming victim head-on. This is difficult because there's no way to avoid it -- there's no "right lane" to travel in. So, the only tip I can give is simply to be vigilant. Watch the cars and hopefully if you stay focused and see someone start to swerve toward you, you can get out of the way. You are better off crashing into a ditch than hitting someone head on. So, if you must, I would take my chances in the ditch.

*RE: Travel times - there's no way to avoid a drunken driver completely. But, traveling at certain times certainly increases your risk exponentially. Days of the week matter too but it can happen at ANY TIME. Saturday night into Sunday morning: most deadliest. That's when my brother was hit. Friday night into Saturday morning: second most deadliest. Thursday night into Friday morning follows that and Sunday night is a big one too, believe it or not. For times -- Around midnight is when we see the rate of intoxicated motorists START to climb. So, from 12am-1am be very aware and vigilant. Of course, avoid traveling during these times of night if you can. If you witness someone who is driving in a questionable manner, call 911 immediately and report their license plate number, description of the car and where they are heading, what road they are on -- as long as it is safe for you to do so. Once you hit that 1am mark the chances start to really climb that you will be hit by a drunk driver. 1am-2am, we see it spike a little more. Once 2:30am and later comes, we really see an increase. It is very dangerous and if you absolutely do not have to be on the roads, I urge you and your loved ones to avoid it.

ANY TIME AFTER 3am and I will tell you, and I've been doing this for years now, I have been present at dozens of sobriety checkpoints in the middle of the night... 3am, 4am, 5am, and even as late as 6/7am are very dangerous. Don't forget -- my brother was struck at 5:50am. So, sun up, just shy of 6am, regular morning... You wouldn't think but the drunk driver who struck him drank all night, waited until last call around 4am, some places will let people stay until 4:30-5am -- and then they start to meander to whatever vehicle and attempt to somehow get home. So, because of "last call" and because you tend to get the worst drinkers, the heaviest drinkers, consuming the most at these times -- you'll see that after 3am on the roadways it is mostly police, emergency personnel and anyone who is in a regular car? I would bet the farm -- they are likely drunk.

*A few things to look for in a motorist who may be intoxicated:

-signaling when they are not supposed to be. OR not signaling when they should be. STAY AWAY FROM THAT VEHICLE AND CALL 911.

-headlights off. many drunk drivers will fail to put their headlights on or if they have automatic, they will, FOR SOME REASON, turn them off! this is one of the first things that police look for when they look to pull someone over for DWI. Every single checkpoint I have been present at: we have had at least one arrest because the driver pulled up to the checkpoint with their headlights off and cops just knew - and sure enough, they were right.

-traveling at a very low/slow rate of speed. OR traveling at a very high rate of speed. STAY AWAY FROM THEM the best you can. The guy that hit my brother was going 87 mph. you either get the one who is going 34 on the LIE -- because they are focusing SO HARD on staying in the correct lane of traffic that they are like a TURTLE. Or, you get the guy who is like OMG I need to get home because I have no business being out here, and they go like a racecar. Or they are going so fast but don't even know it because they are out of their mind drunk.

-swerving in/out of the roadway, kind of meandering around from one lane to another or the side of the road to the lane of travel. Any type of odd driving or looking like they are not focused is a dead giveaway. STAY AWAY FROM THE CAR. Get the information that you need from the car: plate, make/model, color, location and where they are heading and call 911.

-three or four+ people in a car. My brother was the number one producer of DWI arrests in his precinct. He was so good at getting them. And he used to say, "four guys in a car? DRUNK". "three girls in a car? DRUNK" They will go with the person who is least drunk --- and nominate them as the driver to get them home. Meanwhile, they are all shitfaced. It's just the lesser of the evil. I'm not saying stay away from every car that has a lot of people in it -- but be aware. It might catch your eye and then you can observe their driving and STAY CLEAR AWAY from them. And ages don't matter -- we see young allllll the way up to REAL old. So, that isn't really an indicator. There are just as many 22 year olds getting arrested as there are 40 year olds. There's no rhyme or reason with that. Although gender, we do tend to see more males than females but that doesn't mean I haven't seen my fair share of plastered women.

-Don't assume because there are children in the car that they aren't drunk. I have seen cases where the father driving is drunk, the mother in the passenger seat was stone cold sober and the kids in the back are just babies!! And you think, why didn't she just drive? Pride. Chat Icon So, never assume. It's crazy how many Leandra's Law arrests are made each year. (that law punishes people who drive drunk with children in the car).

I think that's about it but there may be a few things I'm forgetting.

Tonight is a big night people go out and drink. Christmas Eve is also huge. Christmas Day is not as big but still a cause for concern --- and then we see an increase around New Year's Eve. Believe it or not, one of the deadliest times is Halloween. It used to not be but the last ten years we have seen it jump up to New Year's Eve levels. And don't forget the 100 deadliest days -- now I really sound like a Debbie Downer -- but they are Memorial Day to Labor Day. Every single weekend, every holiday -- be vigilant.

Please be careful and I wish you and your loved ones the absolute safest holiday season and New Year.

Maybe I'll see some of you at the upcoming checkpoints -- just driving through. We always thank those who came through sober and chose to drive responsibly. We like to remind people that drinking is not the problem -- there's nothing wrong with drinking, just plan ahead to have a sober driver drive you or arrange for a cab, bus, train, etc.

I hope this helps someone and that I didn't sound too much like the black angel of death Chat Icon

Posted 12/23/15 2:29 PM