Tis the Season

Tis the season to be jolly but a word of warning, law enforcement will be out in full force this holiday season. The Iowa Department of Public Safety has issued a press release warning people of the dangers of impaired driving and warning them of increasing law enforcement efforts to prevent and deter drunk driving tragedies. December has been proclaimed Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month. According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, six people died in traffic collisions over Christmas and New Years of 2008. Interestingly enough though, the Department of Public Safety did not specify how many of those deaths were related to "impaired driving." Chances are a small percentage of those deaths, if any, were related to impaired driving otherwise those statistics would have been emphasized. However, it is important to remember that the chances taken by driving after having a little too much holiday cheer are simply not worth it.

The considerable decrease and/or lack of impaired driving related deaths in 2008 can probably be attributed to the stepped up enforcement, public education and prevention
efforts by the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Credit can also be given to programs like KGGO's Holiday Safe Ride which provides free cab rides from participating establishments for patrons who believe they have had too much to drink during the holiday season. This year marks GRL Law's 5th year of participating in and sponsoring KGGO's Holiday Safe Ride. Bottom line is that prevention efforts from all different angles have a positive impact on decreasing drunk driving deaths. It would be refreshing to see organizations such as MADD and other agencies get involved in similar programs that continue throughout the year instead of merely focusing on the holiday season.

A word of warning though to those who elect not to take advantage of programs such as Safe Ride and chose instead to take the risks associated with driving home; law enforcement routinely steps up enforcement efforts on dates and times in which enforcement efforts are not advertised. They have shown a consistent pattern of cracking down the weekend and week PRIOR to a holiday weekend. Govern yourself accordingly and remember: know your rights; exercise your rights; preserve your freedom.

Education and Prevention

During this season of holiday cheer, it is important to remember that prevention is the best medicine when it comes to drinking and driving. While it is not illegal to drink and drive, caution and responsibility is the key. One seemingly innocent lapse in judgment can result in permanent and life altering consequences. We all know that drunk driving takes thousands of lives and leads to even more serious and permanent injuries every year. In addition to the victims of drunk driving, the individual who thought they were "ok" to drive but winds up stopped by the police, or worse yet, in an accident resulting in one of those serious injuries or death, is also faced with a permanent life altering consequences. Mandatory jail time, stiff fines and lengthy license suspensions are often times the least of your worries. If serious injury or death results, mandatory lengthy prison terms are required, regardless of how clean of a record you may have or how good of a person you may otherwise be. See http://www.grllaw.com/CM/Custom/Criminal-Penalties.asp.

A little prevention really does go a long ways. For this reason the attorneys at GRL Law are a participating sponsor for KGGO's holiday safe ride program for the third straight year. The program provides free cab rides home from participating establishments during the holiday season. Participating locations can be found at http://kggo.com/Article.asp?id=1010712&spid=21862.

In addition to holiday safe ride, GRL Law has and is continuing to offer free prevention and education presentations to the general public. The purpose of this presentation is to educate individuals of their constitutional and statutory rights and also the consequences of being arrested and charged with various criminal offenses. In this country, everyone thinks that they know their rights and know even better how to exercise their rights when faced with various situations. The truth however, is that while Americans may have more rights than anywhere else in the world, we are generally ignorant on what they are and how best to exercise them. These presentations are designed to eliminate that ignorance and also serve a preventative function by further educating the public as to the consequences of being arrested, charged, and potentially convicted of various offenses. If you have a group, whether a business, social organization, student organization or otherwise that you feel would benefit from such a presentation, do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at GRL Law to schedule you free education and prevention presentation. http://www.grllaw.com/CM/Custom/Contact.asp.