I hope everyone has had a Happy Thanksgiving and we all look forward to the joyous holiday season ahead of us.  This is a time of year that I think it is important to speak about two subjects that are not about happy times but must not be ignored: Drunk Driving and Domestic Violence.

Automobile collisions are the number one cause of death for young people between the ages of 16 and 24.  And a major reason for this is drunk and reckless driving.  Drunk and reckless driving is a problem that occurs far too often, among all ages.  It is not only dangerous for the drivers, but when you drink and drive, you are putting everyone else at risk also.  This issue is especially significant with the holiday season upon us.  There will be a lot of people on the road, coming back from parties and family gatherings, where alcohol will be served.  Many people make the mistake in believing that it is ok to drive as long as their blood alcohol level is below the legal limit of .08.  They think, “Well, I’ve only had one or two drinks.  I’m fine.”  They couldn’t be more wrong!  Although it may be legal to drive if your blood alcohol concentration level is below that rate, it is still not safe to drive after you have consumed any amount of alcohol.  Research shows that impairment begins long before an individual reaches that alcohol level. 

Even at a blood alcohol concentration level of .02, people exhibit some loss of judgment and experience a decline in visual functions.  Whether you are above or below the legal limit, your reaction time is going to be slower.  The only safe driving limit is .00 percent.

I understand the urge that people may get to have a glass of wine while celebrating the holidays.  My suggestion is if you are going to be drinking, have a designated driver take you home or call a cab.  If you see someone who is intoxicated, take away their keys.  It is everyone’s obligation to not let drunk drivers get into their cars. 

Recent headlines emphasis the fact that almost 6,000 young lives are lost and another 300,000 teens are injured in motor vehicle accidents each year. As of 2008, one third of the fatalities in New York State involved impaired or intoxicated drivers and pedestrians, according to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.

My office treats drunk and reckless driving very seriously. In addition to vigorous prosecution of all such cases, I have responded to the deadly problem of reckless and drunk driving among teens by creating a prevention program called “Choices and Consequences.”  My dedicated staff from the Vehicular Crimes Bureau presents this interactive curriculum to high school students throughout Brooklyn.  The program is a joint initiative between my office, the City Department of Transportation and the New York City Police Department.  This prevention program is a 90-minute presentation broken down into three segments – information, role playing a criminal collision, and conversation between the students and family member of a victim tragically killed or a defendant who has himself inflicted harm due to his reckless behavior.  This portion of the presentation usually has a profound effect on the students and hopefully convinces them not to drive drunk or get into a car with a drunk driver.

It is important to reach people at a young age and instill in them how dangerous drunk driving is, and to show them the consequences they face if they do drive drunk. 

Aside from implementing this program in high schools throughout Brooklyn, I want to urge parents to discuss this issue with their children. 

Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a Vehicle and Traffic Law offense, the penalties for which include license revocation, a substantial fine, and a possible jail sentence.  If you are caught driving while intoxicated, you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

In addition, just this month, the State passed a new law called the Child Passenger Protection Act, also known as Leandra’s Law, which makes it a felony when drunk drivers are caught with children in the car.  The bill also requires interlock devices to stop engines from starting  for all DWI offenders if their breath shows they are drunk.

I want to commend our Vehicular Crimes Bureau and its Bureau Chiefs Gayle Dampf and Craig Esswein for their great work.  Both of these prosecutors have been with my office for many years, prosecuted some of the most high-profile drunk driving cases in the city, and Gayle oversees the Choices and Consequences program.  They have tried vehicular manslaughter cases and they supervise all DWI misdemeanor cases.  They also get grants and programs for alcohol treatment and driving improvement classes.

PROJECT H.O.P.E.

On November 21, we co-sponsored a domestic violence workshop along with the Delta Rho Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the NYPD 81^st Pct., Boys and Girls High School, Kings County Hospital and Senator Kevin Parker’s Office.  Project H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Excel) was held at Boys and Girls High School and it was geared towards providing valuable information and warning signs of potentially abusive relationships, how teens can seek help and how abusers are prosecuted.  It encouraged people to come forward if they suspect abuse. 

It is not unusual for Domestic Violence victims and witnesses to fear speaking out and reporting abusive relationships.  The workshop was designed to empower young men and women and their parents by giving them the resources they need to end this cycle of violence.  Workshop participants were split into focus groups to foster dialogue and the teenagers discussed what they learned from the workshop. 

Alpha Kappa Alpha chapters in the North Atlantic region plan to conduct various programs to increase awareness on the devastating effects of domestic violence and they will rally other organizations to work towards the elimination of domestic violence against women. 

I have always stressed that my office will do all we can to investigate and prosecute domestic violence.  We have implemented many programs and initiatives to help victims, but we need the community’s help to report abuse and we need the victims to come forward and seek help. 

Our Domestic Violence Bureau is staffed with fully trained prosecutors, social workers and counselors.  But they can’t help victims who do not come forward.  Domestic Violence is an issue that is very dear to me and providing safety for the victims is a top priority in my office.  We have a Family Justice Center which is an all-in-one center for DV victims to receive an array of services in one location including legal help, counseling, advocacy, and housing and shelter assistance.  We have our AWARE program which provides emergency necklace pendants and electronic security systems to victims to alert police in case they are in danger.  We also provide cell phone to DV victims which are programmed to dial 911 in case of an emergency.  In addition, we have a Domestic Violence Task Force, a Victim Services Unit and a Teen Dating Violence Program in place.

Once again, I wish everyone a happy upcoming holiday season!

The news articles below may be of interest to you or members of your community.

Washington Post

U.S. Teens Report ‘Frightening’ Levels Of Texting While Driving

5,870 fatalities last year in crashes involving distracted drivers

A graphic British public service video that portrays a fatal accident caused by a texting teenage driver has been the talk of Facebook and other places where young Americans congregate, but a study suggests that it hasn’t done much to change their habits.

A quarter of U.S. teens ages 16 to 17 who have cellphones say they text while driving, and almost half of Americans ages 12 to 17 say they’ve been in cars with someone who texted while behind the wheel. Teens say their parents are texting fanatics, too.

Those findings are in a report released Monday by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/16/AR2009111602174.html

The Courier-Journal (Louisville)

Week Highlights Awareness Of Distracted Driving

With Thanksgiving a few days away, state officials are continuing efforts to combat distracted driving, which they say was responsible for a quarter of Kentucky’s road fatalities last year and kills more people proportionally in the state than across the country.

Gov. Steve Beshear signed a proclamation declaring this as a week of Distracted Driving Awareness to try to highlight the dangers.

As part of the Distracted Driving Awareness week, Boyd Sigler, director of the state’s highway safety programs, said public service announcements are being run on television and radio stations, and police across the state will be on the lookout for reckless driving.

Of the 826 traffic deaths in the state last year, 24 percent were due to distracted driving, Sigler said. That’s a third higher than the 16 percent nationally due to distracted driving, according to a September report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

www.brooklynda.org

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