|
|
|
|
|
|
“Friends don’t let friends drink and drive.” It’s a saying that everyone is familiar with, and that proprietors of taverns, restaurants, party stores and groceries will strongly emphasize during this holiday season, according to the Michigan Food and Beverage Association (MFBA).
To emphasize that this isn’t just a saying, members of the MFBA will be offering a free five-minute telephone card to let their customers call for a ride when they’ve had too much to drink. The life-saving telephone card is being distributed by the MFBA to its members as a community service during the season that should be glad, not sad because of a drunk driver.
During the holiday season last year, more than 35 percent of traffic fatalities nationwide were alcohol-related, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. In 1997 in the State of Michigan alone, there were 558 alcohol-related traffic deaths. Nationwide the toll was 17,000 people killed by drunken drivers.
Some of the participating organizations include Pepsi-Cola, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of MI, The Salvation Army, Omni-Care, St. John Health System, Michigan Business and Professional Assn., Eastern Market Merchants Assn., Detroit Institute of Arts, National Multiple Sclerosis Society (MI Chapter), The Detroit Zoo, Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Detroit Urban League. Community organizations and non-members of MFBA who wish to participate in this annual holiday season promotion should call MFBA at 810-979-6322.
We can all do our part: “Friends don’t let friends drink and drive.”
