SUPER BOWL MINI-PLANNER

SAMPLE LETTER TO THE EDITOR

651 WORDS

 

Dear Editor:

 

Super Bowl Sunday is one of America’s biggest and most entertaining national sporting events as friends and families gather to socialize and watch the big game. Yet, it is also one of the nation’s most dangerous days on the roadways due to impaired driving.

 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 158 people, representing 51 percent of all traffic fatalities, died during the 2004 Super Bowl due to impaired drivers with blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of .08% and higher.

                                                                                                             

That’s why [Local Organization] is joining with the National Football League (NFL), the Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management Coalition (TEAM), Recording Artists, Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving (RADD), NHTSA and other state and local highway safety and law enforcement officials to remind everyone to act responsibly by designating a sober driver if they plan on using alcohol this Super Bowl weekend.

 

Please remember that Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk. If you plan on using alcohol while cheering your team on to victory, pass your keys to a sober, designated driver before the Super Bowl party begins. Follow the rules or law enforcement will penalize you for driving impaired. Be sure to make the right play for the big game.

 

This effort is part of the NFL-TEAM-RADD’s season-long Responsibility Has Its Rewards national designated driver program at every NFL stadium. During the 2004 NFL Season, more than 80,000 football fans pledged to be a sober designated driver. For 2005, TEAM projects more than 100,000 fans will have pledged to make the winning play.

 

Drunk driving crashes—and fatalities—can be prevented. Designating a sober driver should be on the top of everyone’s Super Bowl party list, but there are other ways you can help save lives, too.

 

If you are hosting a Super Bowl party:

 

• Remember, you can be held liable and prosecuted if someone you served ends up in an impaired driving crash.
• Make sure all of your guests designate their sober drivers in advance, or help arrange ride-sharing with other sober drivers.

 

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• Serve lots of food—and include lots of non-alcoholic beverages at the party.
• Stop serving alcohol at the end of the third quarter of the game and begin serving coffee and dessert.
• Keep the numbers for local cab companies handy, and take the keys away from anyone who is thinking of driving while impaired.

 

If you are attending a Super Bowl party or watching at a sports bar or restaurant:

 

• Avoid drinking too much alcohol too fast. Pace yourself—eat enough food, take breaks and alternate with non-alcoholic drinks.
• Designate your sober driver before the party begins and give that person your car keys.
• If you don’t have a designated driver, ask a sober friend for a ride home; call a cab, friend or family member to come get you; or stay where you are and sleep it off until you are sober.
• Use your community’s Sober Rides program [Insert your local Sober Rides specifics here];
• Never let a friend leave your sight if you think they are about to drive while impaired. Remember, Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk.
• Always buckle up—it’s still your best defense against other impaired drivers.

 

Impaired driving is no accident nor is it a victimless crime. In 2004, nearly 13,000 people died in highway crashes involving an impaired driver or motorcycle operator with an illegal BAC level of .08% or higher.

 

Driving impaired or riding with someone who is impaired is simply not worth the risk because the consequences are serious and real. Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving can be significant.

 

Please act responsibly. Pass your keys to a sober driver before the big game begins. And remember, real Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk.

 

For more information, please visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org and www.TeamCoaltion.org.

 

Name, address and phone number. (The newspaper must have these to verify the identity of the sender, but won’t print the street address or phone number.)

 

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