Red Light: Recent research reveals the dangers of mixing alcohol with popular energy drinks such as Red Bull and Adrenaline Rush. It's a phenomenon sweeping college campuses. Drinking alcoholic beverages and energy drinks at the same time can in essence delay the perceived effects of the alcohol, misleading people into thinking they're not as affected by it as they really are, in turn endangering their bodies and making risky behavior more likely. Dr. Mary Claire O'Brien, an emergency room physician and associate professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, is lead author of the study. "In our study, one in four college drinkers is mixing alcohol with energy drinks. ... We found that they did it in order to be able to drink more without passing out. Indeed, there is a much greater incidence of drunkenness and a much greater incidence of heavy episodic drinking when students mix alcohol with energy drinks. But, the real thing we were interested in was the association with serious, alcohol-related consequences, like riding with a drunken driver or being hurt or injured or needing medical treatment. And indeed, all those things were twice as likely among students who mixed alcohol with energy drinks." CBS News, November 7, 2007.
Green Light: (? – You Decide): St. Mary’s County, Maryland – A newspaper editor, whose family has dealt with deadly drunk driving crashes, is offering a coffin to the first person who dies in the 2007 holiday season from a drunk driving crash. St. Mary's Today editor Ken Rossignol was never shy about a journalistic style some say borders on the sensational. For years, he has posted the names of local people arrested on DWI charges in every weekly edition. "So the message is, don't drink and drive." He says people aren't listening. Now, he offered a free coffin to the first person who kills him or herself in a drunk driving crash in the Charles/Calvert/St. Mary's County region. "You wanna die? We're gonna make it cheaper for you." His unorthodox approach is getting mixed reviews; some say it's crazy while others think it's a good idea. Rossignol has seen too many people killed by drunk drivers, including his brother in 1975. His goal is that no one accepts his offer. "We hope we don't have to award a free coffin, but if they want it, they'll get it." ABC News, November 29, 2007.
Red Light: Persistence is a virtue in Nebraska. Last week a judge sentenced a 20 year old girl here to 4 months in jail along with a 9 month treatment for 6 DUI's she got in the span of 7 weeks. All were found to be second offenses, and she had her baby with her on one, and was on her way to get the kid at the time of the last arrest when she finally wrecked her car. She actually had a 7th DUI under investigation, but 6 seemed like enough. At least for now, since soon she'll be old enough to drink legally. Associated Press - July 16, 2008Ypsilanti, Michigan – Police detained a Northville couple after a wife who drove to pick up her young son when her husband was stopped for drunken driving showed up even more intoxicated than he was, police alleged. "I've never seen it happen like that to the same family in one situation," said Ypsilanti Police Sgt. Kevin Dorsey. "They made their bed. She had been drinking too." The couple was jailed late Saturday and their children, a 12-year-old boy who had been traveling with his father and a 9-year-old girl who had been in the car with her mother, were released to a relative. A police report said the man was pulled over when an officer said he saw a Jeep run a traffic light. The driver appeared intoxicated, and a breath test indicated he had an alcohol level of 0.11. Officers allowed the 12-year-old to telephone home for a ride, but when mom showed up, she too appeared to be drunk. She told officers she'd drunk some wine and became combative when she tried to leave the scene. A breath test indicated her alcohol level was 0.13. "We were going to turn the kids over to mom, but she was intoxicated too," Dorsey said. "She drew a lot of attention to herself." Detroit News, printed October 30, 2007.
And in the same vein...
Red Light: Clio, Michigan – A police officer checking on a truck that got stuck in the mud at a city park was startled to find a 13-year-old boy behind the wheel. The officer also was surprised that the boy appeared to be drunk. So did the teen's father, who was riding in the front seat. He told police that he had turned over the driving duties to his son because he'd had too much to drink. Open containers of beer and liquor were found in the vehicle. Clio Police Chief James McLellan told The Flint Journal "(The boy) even said he didn't want to drive because he was too drunk." The father, 41, is facing several misdemeanor counts, including child endangerment, allowing an intoxicated person to drive his vehicle, and allowing an unlicensed minor to drive. The boy has been petitioned into juvenile court on charges that include driving while intoxicated. The pair were trying to get home when they turned into the park to turn around. The truck rolled off the pavement and became stuck in the muddy soil. MLive.com – Associated Press, November 2007.
And yet again...
Red Light: Hilltown, Pennsylvania – It’s a pretty safe bet you'll be in deep trouble if the police have to call your mom because you've been arrested on drunken driving charges. But if mom shows up to the police station and she's drunk, all bets are off. Hilltown police arrested a 16-year-old Perkasie boy at 3 a.m. on DUI and underage drinking charges after driving erratically on Main Street. After the teen submitted to a blood alcohol test, police phoned the boy's mom from the station saying she should come get him. But his mother showed up intoxicated, and after failing field sobriety tests, was arrested on DUI charges. Both mother and son were eventually released to a sober third party. “If she had admitted to us in the beginning she was drinking, we would have made other arrangements to get the (teen) home,” said Hilltown Police Chief Chris Engelhart. As strange as it sounds, Hilltown sees a case like this almost every year.. Printed in Phillyburbs.com on October 16, 2007.
But A Green Light for a Very Brave Daughter...
Green Light: Galisteo, New Mexico –Robert Montoya, 52, was drunk behind the wheel with three teenage girls trapped inside, two of them his daughters. One of the daughters made the frantic call to 911 as she attempted to get her dad to pull over.
Caller(crying): "Dad!" Male Voice: "You guys are the ones that got me going this way."
Caller: "We didn't have any....drinking and speeding, Dad, pull over!"
As the girls pled with Montoya to stop, he only went faster.
Operator: "Tell him to pull over." Caller: "I'm trying, he's like going 100 now." Operator: "Going 100? Ok, are you guys belted in? OK, make sure you have your seat belts on, OK?"
The ride finally ended where police took Montoya into custody and found out he'd been in trouble with the law before with five previous DWI arrests. Montoya admitted to drinking a six-pack of beer while waiting for the girls at a pumpkin patch. Officers could not complete a sobriety test on Montoya because he could not stand without falling back down. Montoya is charged with one count of DWI and three counts of abandonment or abuse of a child. With his own daughters turning him in, this time authorities hope Montoya will remember what's important and live on to be a father in the future. KOAT.com, Albuqurerque News, October 29, 2007.
And This Green Light for a Very Brave Son...
Green Light: Vancouver, Washington – An 8-year-old boy riding in a car with his mother and little sister called 911 at least twice to report that his mother had been drinking and was driving in the wrong direction. Authorities say the call led to the woman's arrest on drunken driving and other charges. Paulette Spears, 33, was arrested after she drove to a fire station and said she had a medical problem. Guided by her son's description of what he could see from the car, as well as by global positioning technology to track the phone calls, deputies arrived at the station less than a minute later. At one point, Spears took the cell phone from the boy, told the dispatcher not to worry, and hung up. She also bit the boy's hand and grabbed the phone from him. Tapes show the 911 dispatcher asked the boy to put his mother on the phone, but the woman ended the call instead. The dispatcher called back and the boy's mother hung up again. Then the boy called 911 again and told the dispatcher his mother was "jabbing" him with her hands, insisting he give her the phone.
