There is nothing anyone can say or do to bring their children back. There is no sentence that will let them hug them again or hold their hand or see their future. That was all taken away by one person’s decision. So whatever the outcome of the sentencing, there is no real justice. But, what there is, is a sentence that shows the severity of the crime. That shows others that drinking and driving is dangerous and that there are consequences for making the choice that in this case took two lives.

In the end, anyone whose life has been impacted by an alcohol related crash knows, there is no real justice. Nothing the legal system does could ever be enough, they can’t bring back the life that you had before the crash. They can make sure consequences are there and the punishment fits the crime, but as much as we would like it to, it doesn’t make things better. But, hopefully those consquences will help others in the future, showing them that making the choice to drink and drive, could change so many lives, including your own.

After celebrating our first PowerTalk 21 Day and kicking off the Power of Parents program, we are excited to really see the program take off across the state in 2012. We can keep Nebraska’s youth safe through this program, which allows parents to learn how to start the conversation about alcohol with their teens.

We can’t wait to get this year rolling! 2012 will hold many exciting things for MADD Nebraska. We hope we can count on your support throughout another year, helping to connect us with your communities and allowing us to make a difference across the state. We ask all of you to make the right choice this year and make one of your resolutions to be to always have a sober designated driver if you plan to drink. This choice alone can save lives! Thank you for all of your support and here is to a great 2012!

It is disappointing to us when the criminal justice system does not enforce the strong DUI laws set in place by the state of Nebraska. It is truly a team effort to make sure that all those who make the choice to drink and drive are held accountable.  This is the best way to ensure that people learn from their mistakes. We here at MADD Nebraska would like to see fair and equitable treatment across the state, with all offenders receiving a punishment that fits their crime and that has to happen in the courts. Law Enforcment Agencies across the state are out there, working to keep drunk drivers off of the roads. But, unless their actions are followed by swift and certain punishment, the message gets lost.

We hope that even with the reduced charges, Mr. Caputo learns from his choice and never makes a decision that puts him in this situation again. More than that we hope he realizes what his choice could have led to. Every time someone gets behind the wheel after drinking they are putting themselves and others in danger. 53 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes in 2010, 53 lives taken because someone made the choice to drink and drive. It is a lesson all of us can learn, to never drive after we have been drinking and to always designate a sober driver.

We hope that in the future, everyone will be held accountable for their actions by Nebraska’s criminal justice system. Dropping and/or reducing charges sends the message that drunk driving is not a serious crime. But, if you ask any of the families who have been impacted by an alcohol-related crash, it is, a dangerous, life-changing crime that deserves much more than a slap on the wrist as a punishment.

I can’t help but then wonder, what are role models today teaching our children? Athletes, celebrities, politicians, even parents are making choices that we would not want our children to make. And at the top of that list of bad decisions, drunk driving. Just a few days ago a former Miss America was arrested for drunk driving, a disappointing action from someone who was most certainly a role model for many little girls.  (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57336703-504083/former-miss-usa-rima-fakih-arrested-on-suspicion-of-drunk-driving-police-say/) Miss Fakih may have just made a bad decision, and does seem extremely remorseful but, the message has already been sent.

It is easy to say these people are still just people who still make mistakes and should not be held to a higher standard. And while true they are still just regular people, they have to live their lives knowing that they eyes of many are watching.  Whether you ask for the privilege of being a role model or it falls upon you because of your status, it is up to you to live up to that responsibility.

Even more important, is for parents to realize they too are role models. Just because your child hopes to be the next Aaron Rodgers, doesn’t mean that he  isn’t looking up to you and following in your footsteps. In fact, a new study just released showed that if a parent recieves a DUI, their teens may make the same choice. (http://health.msn.com/health-topics/addiction/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100282343) Parents have a huge influence on their kids and their choices. MADD’s Power of Parents program encourages parents to remember that nearly 1/3 of teens say their parents are the biggest influence in their choice to drink and gives tips on how to have the conversation-early and often – about alcohol. (You can always contact the MADD Nebraska State Office to learn more about Power of Parents!) It is not just about the celebrity role models and their actions, remember that the biggest role models are the ones your kids come in contact with every day.

It is especially important to think about our choices as role models this time of year. The holiday season is upon us and that means there are a lot of opportunities to make good choices in front of your kids. Make sure as you attend holiday parties and events, that you always designate a sober driver and to host parties responsibly-giving non-alcoholic options and making sure all guests have a sober ride home. Don’t forget that your kids are watching the choices you make and no matter who they look up to, you are the biggest role model they have.

The ranking was based on five different criteria, including the use of ignition interlock, enhanced penalties for driving drunk with children in the car and the use of sobriety checkpoints.  Check out this link (http://www.madd.org/blog/report-to-the-nation.html) for the full report and check out how the other states across the nation did! A five star rating was hard to come by and we are very proud of all of the work that went into Nebraska getting it! So many people worked hard for many years to put all of these measures in place to make Nebraska a safer place. The ranking is just a number, the real importance is the fact that these five things we were ranked on could save a life! We think it is important to thank all of our partners who worked so much over the past five years to recognize the danger of drunk driving and help put Nebraska on the right path for eliminating it! Law Enforcement, the state Legislators and government, all of our volunteers and supporters who we count on for so much, the MADD staff past and present who spend their days thinking about how we can work towards saving lives, and the highway safety partners across the state! It is truly a team effort, although the work each group does is important, no one of them alone could make Nebraska as safe as it is when we all work together!

All that being said, this five star rating is just the motivation to move us forward and continue the fight! It is just a stepping stone. Even with all of these measures in place, families have still had to mourn the loss of their family member to drunk drivers. So our job is not done, until there are no more victims. Until no family has to experience the tragedy of having someone taken from them in an alcohol related crash. That means our work has really just begun. We need to continue to work to make sure no one ever gets behind the wheel of a car after drinking, whether that is through education, fear of the judicial system and the punishment they may face, through designated drivers, hard working law enforcement and new technology we will someday have!

So we took this week and celebrated the work that has been done. All the while remembering the victims, the victims who bravely stood at our press conference and told the world of the loss they are feeling, the victims who show us that our work is not done. They show us that our five star ranking is just the start and our task will only be accomplished when drunk driving is eliminated. So we are done celebrating and back to working hard, because truly our work is far from done.

On November 16th, we will be celebrating five years of MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. For five years we have been working to eliminate drunk driving through supporting the heroes in law enforcement that keep our roads safe, working to require convicted drunk drivers to blow before they go with an ignition interlock, and looking toward a future where the cars are the cure.  We will also be kicking off the 2011 holiday crackdown on drunk driving with our annual Tie One On For Safety campaign. The campaign asks all motorists to display a red ribbon on their car in support of law enforcement crackdown efforts and as a pledge to drive safe, sober and buckled up throughout the holiday season.

We will be celebrating both of these events with a press conference hosted by Governor Dave Heineman and First Lady Sally Ganem at their residence. In honor of the fifth anniversary of the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, MADD will be releasing a Rating of the States, and during this press conference we will be annoucing what Nebraska’s ranking is. The ranking provides us with a gauge, determining where we stand in the fight against drunk driving, revealing our strengths, and showing us where we have room for improvement. We invite you to join us for the press conference to hear the announcement for yourself at 10:00 am on November 16th at the Governor’s Residence in Lincoln! Or just do what you are doing and keep reading our blog, we will reveal the ranking and talk more about how it was determined next week!

Hope to see you all there for the celebration!

Scary isn’t it? We thought so. So Mother’s Against Drunk Driving, along with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), are launching a national coordinated effort to reach our to the underserved and growing number of drugged driving victims across the country. We have always been willing to offer support to victims and survivors of drunk driving crashes, but now we are making a coordinated effort to reach out and serve these victims.

We know that all too often driving under the influence, involves both alcohol and drugs, or drugs alone. In 2009, of the drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes (and were subsequently tested and had results reported), one in three tested positive for drugs. While the substances being used may vary, the cost is often the same, needless deaths and injuries.

Working with this growing problem of abuse of drugs and alcohol will allow us to serve more people and most importantly, save more lives.

For more information on the new drugged driving effort, or on any of MADD’s programs, please head to www.madd.org.

According to the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety, this number is the highest it has been since 2004. Actually, according to Rose White of AAA Nebraska, the last time our number was over 21, was in 1987 when there were 31 motorcycle fatalities, a little over a year before our state helment law went into effect in 1989. So why now. Why do these numbers seem to be skyrocketing and what can we do about it!

Fred Zwonechek, head of the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety suggests the rise in number may be attributed to the weather. Seven of the 21 deaths have occured in the month of September. As many of you may have noticed, this month has been a perfect one to be outside. And for motorcyclists, that means being out on the road. The crash that started this conversation happened in Lincoln on Wednesday,  (http://www.omaha.com/article/20110929/NEWS01/709299829/-1) and our hearts go out to the family of Dennis Simpson.

So what do we do. The weather is perfect to ride, and people are going to. So how do we make sure they are safe out there. The fact is motorcycles are dangerous. Does this mean we shouldn’t ride them, no. It simply means we all need to use extra caution when riding or driving around them. For motorcyclists, it means always following the posted signs and speed limits, being on a bike doesn’t not exempt you from following the rules of the road. It also means taking the time to really know how to control your motorcycle, they have a lot of power, so make sure you know what you are doing before you get out on the road. Most importantly, always, always, always…did I say always…WEAR YOUR HELMET. It can save your life!

For the rest of us traveling on the roads. It is important that we pay extra attention, follow the rules of the road as well and be respectful of the motorcyclists on the road around us. If we can all work together to share the road, maybe we will see the number of fatalities drop back down. While we can never get the lives lost back, we can learn and become more respectful and better drivers to help keep another life from being taken.

And you should know, that if you have a plan, so does law enforcement. In fact there are a lot of people planning and working so we can all have a safe and fun game day.  Agencies across the state come together on game day to make sure everyone can cheer on the Huskers without having to worry about their safety.  If you are coming to the game, you can expect to see an increased presence of law enforcement. The Nebraska State Patrol will be working overtime hours for all of the Husker home games this year thanks to a grant by the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety. They will making sure everyone arrives safely for the game and safe at home after!

The State Patrol is not alone in this effort. The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department and Lincoln Police Department will also be on the roads working to keep us all protected. We cannot thank all of them enough for their hard work to keep the roads safe on game day and always!

We ask that as you make your game day plans, you remember Nebraska’s Law Enforcement Agencies will be out in force over the weekend. And we can all help make their job easier, by being patient, making sure you buckle up and most importantly, always making sure you have a designated sober driver if your game plan includes alcohol.

Go Big Red!

The former writer of this blog became a Grandma the other day, her daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, and it got me thinking about what the good stuff in life really is. Those things that make your heart swell with happiness, moments where you don’t think life could get any better…and then it does.  The good stuff is different for each of us. Sometimes it is little stuff, ice cream, a good book, a phone call from a friend. And other times it is big stuff. In my life right now, it is being engaged to the man of my dreams and planning our wedding and our future together. Just talking with him about the moments of our special day brings me so much joy, I can’t imagine how happy I will be on our actual wedding day.

What is your good stuff? What are the things that make you happy beyond belief? For so many of us the good “stuff” is often people, those we love. They are the ones that make our lives happier.  And it is important for us to protect the good stuff in our lives. What would you do if you could never again hold your babies in your arms? Or be held by the ones who love and comfort you? These are questions many victims of drunk driving are forced to answer. Their lives are changed forever by the choice of another person. It is really up to all of us to protect the good stuff and we can all start by making the simple decision to not drink and drive, and making sure our friends and family always designate a sober driver. We can work to encourage our state and national governments to pass tougher drunk driving laws and put money towards research for new technology to prevent drunk driving.Nebraska took a huge step forward with this recently, passing a comprehensive DUI bill that makes driving drunk with a child in the car a felony.  We can all work to educate those in our communities about the dangers of drunk driving, or bring a Power of Parents Workshop in to help parents learn to start that conversation with their teens about alcohol. There are so many little things we can do to help protect the good stuff in our lives, and today is the day to start.

Today is also a good day to start thinking about what your good stuff is. What are the things in the world that make you happiest? If they are people, protect them, and don’t forget to tell them every day how happy they make you. If they are things, take the time to truly appreciate them, enjoy that special treat, dance in the rain. Live every day thankful for the good stuff and let your heart by happy.