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MADD urges residents to 'tie one on for safety'
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) kicked off its annual "Tie One On For Safety" red ribbon campaign Nov. 14. The campaign was launched during a press conference at the Loudoun County Public Schools administration building in Ashburn.
The objective of the campaign is to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking on a local level, then work up to a state and nationwide level.
Guest speakers included Shannon Beam, Miss Central Virginia 2008, the parents of Tyler Bentley and several others. Bentley was an 18-year-old student who was killed in a wreck with a drunk driver Nov. 24, 2005.
Nancy Bentley, Tyler's mother, said how important it is for students and young adults to experience the court trials of drunk drivers to get the first hand feel of it.
Statewide MADD campaigns have been launched in schools for education, but she said witnessing trials are far more effective.
Robert Bentley, Tyler's dad, said he thinks that the most effective way to eliminate drunk driving is to increase enforcement and punishment.
He added that he believes drunk drivers should be charged for murder if they kill a victim while intoxicated.
His advice to parents is "to practice what you preach" by not letting your children drink alcoholic beverages. Both parents agreed that speaking and supporting MADD is therapeutic for them and gives people a better understanding of the organization.
"We do this for him [Tyler]," Nancy Bentley said.
Susan Cleveland, president of the Loudoun chapter of MADD, praised the stricter penalties Virginia recently enforced for drunk drivers. Instead of a small fine paid out over one year, the penalty was extended to a larger fine paid out over three years.
Sen. Mark Herring (D-eastern Loudoun), also a guest speaker, supported the mission of MADD and WRAP (Washington Regional Alcohol Program). Both organizations spread awareness through enforcement, education and the legislature.
Kurt Erickson of WRAP addressed how the number of drunk-driver-related crashes double during the holiday season. His organization offers free taxi rides around holidays when drunk driving is most prevalent. The next program will be offered Dec. 7, 2007 to Jan. 1, 2008, 10p.m.-6a.m. For a sober ride, call 1-800-TAXI.
Another speaker was Major Don Park of the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. He talked about how his office conducts sobriety checkpoints on every major road during the holiday season.
At the checkpoints, each driver receives an educational brochure about MADD and how to prevent drunk driving.
Ann Huggins-Lawler from Dulles Greenway shared the same ideas. She said toll collectors will provide drivers with brochures and a ribbon Nov. 23 and Dec. 20, the two holiday weekends when Americans are most prone to be drunk. The ribbons, a pledge to not drink and drive, are provided by MADD.
The Department of Motor Vehicles also plays an important role by providing pamphlets to drivers.
Beam was the last speaker. As a participant in pageants within the Miss America Organization, she chose MADD as her platform. She said that "drunk driving is 100-percent preventable."
Beam added that the way to eliminate drunk driving is obey the laws, never drink and drive, and never get in a car with an intoxicated person.
All of the MADD members present at the press conference are working toward a common goal: eliminating drunk driving and better enforcing laws by supporting MADD and WRAP's missions.
Note: The writer, a junior at Loudoun Valley High School, participated in the Loudoun School-Business Partnership's Job for a Day program on Nov. 14.
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