Streets of Slaughter – Lest We Forget

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an estimated one-third of all drivers arrested, convicted or adjudicated for drunken driving are repeat offenders. 

And July Fourth consistently ranks as the deadliest single holiday for drunken driving. During the holiday in 2010 (the latest survey), 392 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationally in a single day. 

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Aaron Deutscher, his pregnant wife Allison, and their 18-month-old daughter, Brielle, of West Fargo, ND were killed in a car crash by drunk driver Wyatt Klein. 

Why is it that the innocent pay the price when the criminal doesn’t understand that drinking and driving is against the law? 

There is a true story told that out on the west coast they have windy roads that go around the mountainsides, and on one particular turn they noticed cars were going over the end of the cliff and crashing at the bottom to their own destruction. Soon a concerned committee got together to remedy the problem. The remedy would go as follows: We need to put an ambulance at the bottom of the mountain.  

You’re taught this kind of mentality every day. 

Before performing an assembly at a high school in Minnesota, I noticed a car in front of the school that looked like a tin can, where 3 kids were killed drinking and driving. I also noticed a poster of a kid in a body bag, with a toe wrap on, so you could identify the body. On this poster it said, “This year 7, 514 kids will not be drinking and driving.”

I have also seen posters for students stating, “If you can’t party responsibly, don’t party at all.”

The problem with this mentality is that according to the law, it is illegal to consume alcohol until you are 21 years of age. Why the power of suggestion?

What does the bureaucracy do in America? They put an ambulance at the bottom of the mountain and they call it, “Alcoholics Anonymous,” where you sit in a circle; you’re then told to say your name, that you’re sick (not a criminal) and “you need to help me.” 

When you lower the law, you dim the light by which man perceives his own guilt. No longer are drunkards criminals, they are now sick. 

According to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, 10,228 people died from drinking and driving accidents in 2010, the most recent data available.

In 1992, a man in a California was arrested for drinking and driving the 18th time. His sentence given by the judge was to move closer to the liquor store. Now, that’s funny if you can overlook the 10,228 people that were killed in 2010.

Remember, soft judges produce hardened criminals.

And when justice is left off, it only emboldens others to commit the crimes, and the innocent pay the price. 

Besides, not everyone that gets hit by a drunk driver dies. (Warning: Very Graphic Content) 

Who is Bradlee Dean?: