Drunken Driving Is a Persistent Problem but There May Be a Technological Solution
Drunken driving control efforts have sputtered out in recent years with more than 11,000 preventable deaths now occurring annually. Over the past four decades, public health officials have largely focused on changing behaviors — asking people to not drink and drive. But now, there are new auto technologies that can prevent them from doing so. […]
Bruce Springsteen: The Latest Celebrity DWI
It was especially disappointing to read about Bruce Springsteen’s recent arrest for suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI). After all, the famous rocker, whose father was an alcoholic, has stated that he is not a heavy drinker. And his father’s sister was killed by a truck when she was a child. Yet Springsteen, according to the arresting […]
How Americans Learned to Condemn Drunk Driving
At a traffic safety conference in 1980, a Californian named Candy Lightner delivered her first public speech about a 13-year-old freckle-faced girl who had recently been killed by a drunk driver with several previous convictions. At the conclusion of her talk, she announced, “That girl was my daughter.” As Lightner later wrote, the press ran […]
Falling Asleep At The Wheel: A Confession
It turns out that I have something in common with Anson Williams, who played Potsie Weber on the long-running 1970s television show “Happy Days.” No, not that we were both nerds in high school, he fictional and I actual. Both Williams and I have fallen asleep while driving and narrowly averted a major crash. Nov. 5-12, […]
Whoa, Tiger! Early Thoughts About Tiger Woods’ DUI
While details are still forthcoming, Tiger Woods has been arrested on the charge of driving under the influence (DUI). It’s hard to think of another public health problem that has gotten so much attention, that is so avoidable and that yet still persists. What are some of the likely reasons that Woods did what he […]
Drunk Driving’s Biggest Foe: Doris Aiken at 90
When someone dies a preventable death, there is no obligation for loved ones to become activists, aiming to stop similar deaths. It is enough to merely grieve for a tragic loss. But some people turn their grief into action, devoting countless hours to educating the public and creating change. One such person in Doris Aiken, […]
Why Drunk Driving Checkpoints Should Be Celebrated, Not Avoided
A Florida defense lawyer and libertarian has become a YouTube sensation by recommending that drivers pulled over during checkpoint stops to detect drunk drivers do not open their windows or speak to police officers. At last count, Warren Redlich’s video has more than two million views. Instead, he recommends that they display a sign, which […]
Guns, Cars and Too Much Liberty
It is not hard to be moved by Richard Martinez’s emotional public calls for gun control in the wake of his son Christopher’s death during the recent shootings in Santa Barbara. But they hold special resonance for me and my family. In January of this year, my 9-year-old nephew Cooper Stock was killed by a […]
Treat Reckless Driving Like Drunk Driving
On a rainy, foggy night earlier this month, a New York City taxi driver making a left turn at a light apparently did not see my 9-year-old nephew and his 6-foot-3 father crossing the street at a crosswalk, beckoned by a lighted “walk” sign. Whether because of haste, inattention, cellphone use or perhaps the poor […]
Tipsy Driving Is Dangerous, Too
“Room for Debate,” The New York Times, 16 May 2013 “Everyone metabolizes alcohol at different rates.” This is the common rejoinder whenever scientists start debating how much alcohol must be consumed for someone to reach a blood alcohol level that negatively affects a driver’s brain. It is worth revisiting this statement, given the recent call […]