By
The Wildcat Opinions Board
People who head out to university-area bars looking for a good time but end up too intoxicated to drive home have one less reason to put themselves and everybody else on the road in danger, thanks to a new service that keeps people from driving drunk.
Troy Wagner, who heads up the Tucson chapter of the Designated Drivers Association, started a service that shuttles people who have had to much to drink home in their own cars, with a sober volunteer behind the wheel.
Keeping drunken drivers off the road is, without question, important for saving lives. As shown by statistics gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, last year about 38 percent of traffic-accident deaths were attributed to drunken driving - 406 out of 1024 traffic fatalities in Arizona alone were alcohol related. Any attempt to avoid the wrenching pain of losing lives to irresponsible, drunken drivers is one that deserves support and praise.
The program's small volunteer team, which includes some UA students, is of added importance to the University of Arizona community because the program is utilized by two nearby bars, Gentle Ben's Brewery on East University Boulevard and Xs on North Fourth Avenue.
Also last year, more than 4,300 people between the ages of 15 and 24 were killed in alcohol-related crashes. This figure could include a UA student, or a member of his or her family.
The most appealing feature of this service, aside from putting incapacitated drivers safely in the passenger seat, is that it takes away excuses from people. In addition to ensuring one less drunken person is operating a vehicle, it sends chasers after the shuttle car that will pick up the volunteer driver. This way, the bar patron and his or her car both get home safely, and the volunteer driver is not stranded - ultimately, there is no reason an intoxicated person can make for having to get home his or herself.
Only a few days ago President Clinton signed a bill that would lower the legal blood alcohol content to .08 nationwide, kicking up the debate about drunken driving. Quantitative limits only define dangerous levels one way, though. Drunken driving only requires that the person by affected enough to not have full control over his or her own driving, whether they are falling-to-the-floor drunk or not.
For opponents of drunken driving, this service is a positive. Although only about 20 volunteers currently run this service for the two local bars, Designated Drivers Association officials hope to expand the program to serve all of Tucson, which would help ensure a more hopeful future.
