December 19, 2008
Did you know...?
December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month
Every day, 36 people in the United States die, and approximately 700 more are injured, in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver.
This December, during National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month (3D Month), consider what you and your community can do to make injuries and deaths from impaired driving less of a threat.
The Problem
- According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives.
- In 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.
- In one year, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This accounts for less than 1% of the 159 million self-reported episodes of alcohol–impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.
- Alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost about $51 billion a year.
Protect Yourself and Your Family and Friends
During the holiday season, and year-round, take steps to make sure that you and everyone you celebrate with avoids driving under the influence of alcohol. Following these tips from NHTSA can help you stay safe:
- Plan ahead. Always designate a non-drinking driver before any holiday party or celebration begins.
- Take the keys. Do not let a friend drive if they are impaired.
- Be a helpful host. If you’re hosting a party this holiday season, remind your guests to plan ahead and designate their sober driver, always offer alcohol-free beverages, and make sure all of your guests leave with a sober driver.
Know How Communities Can Help
Proven community and state-level methods for reducing alcohol-impaired driving include:
- Sobriety checkpoints. Studies found that fatal crashes thought to involve alcohol dropped by about 22% following implementation of sobriety checkpoints.
- Minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) laws. Studies found that raising the MLDA to 21 reduced crashes by about 16% among people ages 18-20 years.
- 0.08% BAC laws. Fatal alcohol-related crashes declined about 7% after 0.08% BAC laws were passed.
- "Zero tolerance" laws for young drivers. Three studies found that zero tolerance laws resulted in declines in fatal crashes among drivers ages 18-20 years of between 9% and 24%.
Don't become a statistic! The holiday season should be a time to celebrate with friends and family. Unfortunately, all too often, too much holiday "spirit" has tragic consequences when revelers make the reckless decision to drink and drive. I am sad to announce that Yellow Cab is not able to offer free cab rides this year but please don't let that be a detraction from picking up the phone and ordering a cab if you have had too much to drink this holiday season.
OHS-COMPCARE would like to wish you and your family a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!
*Please feel free to forward this information to any member of management in your company who would benefit from it.*
To view the Tip of the Week in Spanish please visit our Tip of the Week library at http://www.ohscompcare.com/totw/. Please allow a few days for the current Tip of the Week to be translated and placed in to the library.
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services OHS-COMPCARE has to offer, contact our Client Services
Team at (816) 561-2105 option 1 or by e-mail at customerservice@ohscompcare.com. You can also visit us at www.ohscompcare.com.
Why choose us? Because OHS-COMPCARE has a physician on call 24/7/365 days a year to respond to our client's needs.
OHS-COMPCARE has seven (7) area clinical facilities:
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Independence Clinical Facility |
Johnson County Clinical Facility |
St. Joseph Clinical Facility |
Grandview Clinical Facility |
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19000 E. Eastland Center Crt, St. 200 |
10415 Lackman Road |
904 Edmond Street |
13830 S Us Highway 71 |
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Independence, MO 64055 |
Lenexa, KS 66219 |
St. Joseph, MO 64501 |
Grandview, MO 64030 |
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816-478-9299 |
913-495-9905 |
816-233-7702 |
816-761-4664 |
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After Hours Available |
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KCMO/Broadway Clinical Facility |
KCMO/Front Street Clinical Facility |
Wyandotte County Clinical Facility |
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1650 Broadway |
6501 East Commerce, Suite 110 |
1333 Meadowlark Lane, Suite 200 |
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Kansas City, MO 64108 |
Kansas City, MO 64120 |
Kansas City, KS 66102 |
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816-842-2020 |
816-483-5550 |
913-596-2774 |
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