I have to admit, I Love the 90’s. I am pretty sure that some days my inner self still has a crush on Zach Morris and carries around a Lisa Frank pencil pack while wearing my overalls and flannel. I admit to tuning into 90’s on 9 while driving to work some days and can still hear the sound of AOL telling me that I’ve got mail. There are so many fond memories I associate with that time period, so usually when I hear the 90’s that is what comes to mind. This week though, I heard the word 90 and before my mind could take me back to the days of grunge, I found out that this time, 90 was bad, really bad.
90 is the number of people killed in 2012 by alcohol-related crashes on Nebraska’s roadways. 90!! And it could still rise, based on crash reports from the end of the year that aren’t filed yet. The number is nearly double number the 51 alcohol-related deaths in 2011. 90, 90 people whose families are going on without them today, 90 people who were taken too soon because of a 100% preventable crime.
What caused this number to go up? I am not sure. There is still a lot of information to be collected to draw those conclusions. But, in the end does it really matter. 90 people were killed. So, no matter what the cause, we have to find a way to stop it. Because the 90’s are just not where we want to be when it comes to drunk driving deaths.
MADD Nebraska 
My opinion is that we have caused this ourselves. Remember as a kid when mom or dad would take kids to a outing and “have a few” then drive home before all this drinking and driving came to light? Those kids are now grown and having kids of their own. I remember my dad having a few beers and we drove home just fine. Or maybe I thought just fine I don’t know I was a kid.
We also keep blaming the drinker. What about the bars. They keep track of the drinks because we get a bill right? Why aren’t they stepping up? MONEY. The more you drink the bigger the tip. Stop putting the entire blame on the end user. Blame the supplier the same way you would blame a drug dealer.
There are many important things to for bar owners to consider to make sure their patrons so not drink and drive, like making sure servers are trained to recognize impairment, to make sure bar owners are working with staff to ensure underage individuals are not allowed to drink in their establishment, and making sure enforcement has the tools and support to take impaired-drivers off the roads. These things all help to reduce impaired-driving deaths. In the end though, it is important for any individual to have a plan for how they are going to get home safe before they start to drink. In the end, while there are many factors at play, it is one person’s decision to drink and drive, and their decision to designate a sober driver before they drink so no one has to be to blame.