Wednesday, November 27, 2002
|
Wednesday, November 27, 2002 |
Georgia gets top grade for its DUI prevention effortsMothers Against Drunk Driving and the GuideOne Foundation have given Georgia a "B" grade for its efforts to prevent drunk driving and underage drinking. While Georgia was one of three states scoring the highest in the nation, its grade is unchanged from a similar 2000 report, MADD officials said. Last year, 69 auto crashes in Fayette County were alcohol-related, according to MADD. The "report card" for Georgia gave high marks to the states's governor and lawmakers as well as the laws on the books and programs operated by law enforcement agencies to deter drunk driving and underage drinking. But the state fared somewhat worse in handling victim issues and its blood alcohol testing and records policies. MADD's Georgia chapter claims the state lacks a victims' rights constitutional amendment and has a low testing rate of blood alcohol content on killed drivers. MADD officials want the state to reinstate a DUI task force and pass legislation mandating that license suspensions for refusing to submit to a blood alcohol content test be counted as a prior DUI offense. Christopher Noe, state executive director of MADD Georgia, said the state's lack of progress reflects attention on the issue. "It is time to get MADD all over again and to rekindle efforts against drunk driving the most frequently committed violent crime and underage drinking here in our state and across the nation," Noe said. "We will continue to work with state leaders to make drunk driving prevention a priority in Georgia." GuideOne is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to eliminating the tragedy of drinking and driving and underage drinking in America. MADD is a grassroots nonprofit organization whose mission is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. John Munford
|
||