AADD
Airmen Against Drunk Driving is an organization at the base that works to prevent drunk driving by their people by providing free no-identifying-questions-asked rides to folks who request it. I think it is a great program. It is run by volunteers - one really dedicated woman in charge and a lot of helpers - who give their time to save lives. Last night was Tom's first night as dispatcher. He decided to sleep on the sofa in the living room so I woudn't be disturbed. At first I thought he was silly - one or two phone calls would't bother me, I'd just roll over and go back to sleep. What I didn't realize was that each 'ride' takes three incoming calls, at a minimum -- the initial call requesting a ride, then an outgoing call to the driver, then the driver calls when (s)he picks up the passenger(s), then again when the passengers are dropped off. Tom was awake a lot last night. I was fully awakened once when I heard the phone ring twice, but that was all.
I know there are some people who would say these folks would not be going out and drinking so much if they didn't know they had a free ride home...so the program only encourages people to be irresponsible. Unfortunately, a lot of people do go out and drink, then face the issue of getting home safely, or their designated driver decides to have a drink or just leaves them. Who knows? The point is, this program provides a way to save the lives of not just the drinkers, but other innocents who might be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't know if other bases have a program like this, but I think they should. And I think the people who devote so much time to it deserve a medal and a great deal of thanks.
Those of you who don't have the benefit of a program like this, please, don't drink and drive. And don't get into a car with someone else who has been drinking behind the wheel. Call a friend, your parents or other relative, get a cab, spend the night in a hotel, or stay at the home of the party-giver. It can save not just your life, but others, too.
posted by Joan S. at 9:24 AM
7 Comments:
Hi Joan --
I admire Tom for working on this project. My cousin Karen's youngest son, Mark, died when he was the passenger in a car being driven by a drunk. Of course the other kid walked away without a scratch. Mark suffered massive head injuries and died on the scene at age 21.
Mark was a great kid. He was so proud of being a Marine and he worked in many of their charities.
Even though it's been several years since this happened, my family is still devastated. In a way I'm glad Karen died a few years before Mark's death because I know she wouldn't be able to bear the pain. Her kids were her live.
Way to go Tom! You're a good man.
B
B,
I'm so sorry to hear of your loss.
It is always difficult to lose a member of your family, and even harder when they die too young. That is the point of this program -- to prevent needless loss.
I remember your speaking of your cousin Karen when we were in school. She is gone too soon, too. Your family has seen it's share of loss.
sounds like a good program to me. One problem at a time, in my opinion. Driving drunk first, then drinking too much without a plan second.
I'm not sure how the drunk people remember the number, but it might be a good idea to have key chains(perhaps the bottle opener kind) and cards people can carry in their wallet with the number printed on them.
That's exactly what they do -- there is a key chain available with the number on it. I see it on keychains all over the base.
Guess I'm not that creative:-) I'm glad they have a good system set up.
It IS a good system, and I think that means you *are* creative because you were right there with ideas that work.
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