As Super Bowl XLV approaches, the Texas Department of Transportation is kicking off a new campaign reminding sports fans and drivers not to drink and drive as they travel to parties, sports bars, or Cowboys Stadium for the game.
Reminders to celebrate responsibly are popping up in TV and radio ads, online party invitations and digital billboards around the state.
"We know that many Texans look forward to parties at homes and at bars during the big game. This year, with the game taking place at Cowboys Stadium, Texans also have the option of going to see the game in Arlington," Carol Rawson, TxDOT Traffic Operations Director, said in a news release. "That's why we're making a special effort to reach sports fans with 'don't drink and drive' reminders at locations where alcohol is served or purchased, as well as in their homes. We want everyone to be safe coming and going from watching parties or the stadium itself."
This year, TxDOT is debut a new element of the agency's onoing campaign: interactive posters featuring a graphic Quick Response code (or QR code), which will hang in bars and restaurants in major Texas markets. By photographing the QR code using their smart phones, Texans will automatically be taken to the TxDOT Ride Finder mobile website, TexasDWI.org.
From there, users can find numbers for local cab companies, public transportation options, and even tweet friends to ask for a safe ride home.
TxDOT has also produced TV and radio messages reminding sports fans not to drink and drive.
SOURCE
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Guardian angel car stops drunk drivers
This vehicular prototype device is not only your whip, but also your guardian angel. The technology we’re talking about is a cool detection system that uses an automatic sensor to gauge a driver’s alcohol level before starting. If your alcohol level is too high, the car simply will not drive.
According to the Center for Disease Control, 32 people die in alcohol-related accidents every day, making an "alcohol-detecting" car extremely appealing to the U.S. Transportation department.
In a visit with QinetiQ North America, the creators of the technology, U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood showed public interest in such technology. The measure called the Driver Alcohol Detection Systems (or…DADS?) will measure the driver’s blood alcohol level, and if it’s above .08 the smart car won’t start.
Although similiar technology already exists, the current judge-ordered bulky tech requires the driver blow into a large tube before starting a vehicle.
This particular version of the technology is designed to be super sensitive and therefore less obtrusive, making it more appealing for major car manufacturers.
The device will analyze the blood alcohol content by analyzing the driver’s breath or skin using touch-based sensors placed on the steering wheel and door locks.
David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, estimated such technology could prevent as many as 9,000 fatal alcohol-related crashes a year in the U.S.
So far the program has received $10 million in research money from the NHTSA and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety.
But some critics argue that the system could never be 100% accurate. Sarah Longwell of the American Beverage Institute said, "Even if the technology is 99.9 percent reliable, that's still tens of thousands of cars that won't start every day.
"It's going to eliminate the ability of people to have a glass of wine with dinner or a beer at a ball game and then drive home, something that is perfectly safe and currently legal in all 50 states."
On the other hand, Laura Dean Mooney, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said the system could "turn cars into the cure."
Sadly, the anti-drunk driving tech won't available for at least 8-10 years.
SOURCE
According to the Center for Disease Control, 32 people die in alcohol-related accidents every day, making an "alcohol-detecting" car extremely appealing to the U.S. Transportation department.
In a visit with QinetiQ North America, the creators of the technology, U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood showed public interest in such technology. The measure called the Driver Alcohol Detection Systems (or…DADS?) will measure the driver’s blood alcohol level, and if it’s above .08 the smart car won’t start.
Although similiar technology already exists, the current judge-ordered bulky tech requires the driver blow into a large tube before starting a vehicle.
This particular version of the technology is designed to be super sensitive and therefore less obtrusive, making it more appealing for major car manufacturers.
The device will analyze the blood alcohol content by analyzing the driver’s breath or skin using touch-based sensors placed on the steering wheel and door locks.
David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, estimated such technology could prevent as many as 9,000 fatal alcohol-related crashes a year in the U.S.
So far the program has received $10 million in research money from the NHTSA and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety.
But some critics argue that the system could never be 100% accurate. Sarah Longwell of the American Beverage Institute said, "Even if the technology is 99.9 percent reliable, that's still tens of thousands of cars that won't start every day.
"It's going to eliminate the ability of people to have a glass of wine with dinner or a beer at a ball game and then drive home, something that is perfectly safe and currently legal in all 50 states."
On the other hand, Laura Dean Mooney, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said the system could "turn cars into the cure."
Sadly, the anti-drunk driving tech won't available for at least 8-10 years.
SOURCE
Will technology stop drunk drivers?
Senator Sherrod Brown and others believe it can.
Cleveland) - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio is calling for passage of the Roads Safe Act.
The measure would fund a program to create a device that would prevent intoxicated motorists from being able to start a vehicle.
Speaking at Cleveland Police headquarters, Brown explained the bill would authorize $12 million in annual funding for five years for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety program.
He says the funding would be provided through money that the federal government has already appropriated for road safety initiatives, rendering the bill cost-neutral.
Supporting the legislation is Julie Leggett, the executive director of the northeast Ohio chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Leggett contends drunk driving has reached epidemic proportions in Ohio, with 122-thousand drivers on state roads with 3 or more DUI's, the third worst record in the nation.
Leggett doesn't feel it will be difficult to create technology that prevents a car from starting when its driver is intoxicated.
Also supporting the bill is Oxford Township firefighter Steve Westcott, who helped Erie County police apprehend a driver who is now facing his 11th DUI.
Westcott says he has seen the effects of drunk driving first hand as a first responder. He feels $12 million is a small price to pay for potentially saving many lives.
Brown claims existing devices, such as ignition locks, can be expensive and obtrusive. The main goal of the legislation is to make the new device smaller and less noticeable, so that parents could choose to install it in the car of their high school- or college-age child.
He maintains the legislation does not require this technology to be installed in any car, but would give families and law enforcement a new means of combating drunk driving.
Previous versions of the bill were supported by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Distilled Spirits Council, General Motors, and Nationwide Insurance.
SOURCE
Cleveland) - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio is calling for passage of the Roads Safe Act.
The measure would fund a program to create a device that would prevent intoxicated motorists from being able to start a vehicle.
Speaking at Cleveland Police headquarters, Brown explained the bill would authorize $12 million in annual funding for five years for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety program.
He says the funding would be provided through money that the federal government has already appropriated for road safety initiatives, rendering the bill cost-neutral.
Supporting the legislation is Julie Leggett, the executive director of the northeast Ohio chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Leggett contends drunk driving has reached epidemic proportions in Ohio, with 122-thousand drivers on state roads with 3 or more DUI's, the third worst record in the nation.
Leggett doesn't feel it will be difficult to create technology that prevents a car from starting when its driver is intoxicated.
Also supporting the bill is Oxford Township firefighter Steve Westcott, who helped Erie County police apprehend a driver who is now facing his 11th DUI.
Westcott says he has seen the effects of drunk driving first hand as a first responder. He feels $12 million is a small price to pay for potentially saving many lives.
Brown claims existing devices, such as ignition locks, can be expensive and obtrusive. The main goal of the legislation is to make the new device smaller and less noticeable, so that parents could choose to install it in the car of their high school- or college-age child.
He maintains the legislation does not require this technology to be installed in any car, but would give families and law enforcement a new means of combating drunk driving.
Previous versions of the bill were supported by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Distilled Spirits Council, General Motors, and Nationwide Insurance.
SOURCE
Friday, January 28, 2011
Alco-Buddy helping to reduce New Year's Eve drunk driving accidents and DUI's
Alcohol Breathalyzer Vending Machine Being Used in More Establishments This Year
Someone is killed in an alcohol related automobile accident every 50 minutes and someone is injured almost every minute.
Now, a new report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently reported the average number of deaths stemming from alcohol-related motor car crashes was nearly 150 percent higher on New Year’s Eve than the average for the same day of the week during the holiday season greater on New Year's Day than usual.
The AAA report estimates the number of alcohol-related fatalities will be especially high this year, as New Year's Eve falls on a weekend.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a large proportion of people in many states pulled over for DUIs refuse to take an alcohol breathalyzer test.
NHTSA data show that last year, 10,839 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, including 753 in December alone.
Agency trend data have consistently shown an increase in fatalities during the holiday season.
So, what can be done to curb this trend and make the roads safer on a weekend like this one when the data clearly show that there is a high risk of being involved in an alcohol related traffic situation? The Alco Buddy company of Holbrook, NY, believes that they have a solution that can help deter many of these would be drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel after a night of New Year’s Eve revelry. It appears that many establishments who cater to the New Year’s Eve party crowd agree.
Alco-Buddy is a manufacturer of an alcohol breathalyzer vending machine that is installed in establishments that serve alcohol. The premise is simple: a patron, who may or may not be over the legal driving limit, purchase a straw from the Alco Buddy machine, inserts it into the machine and blows into it. The machine, in turn, will provide that person’s BAC (blood alcohol content) before the person ever gets behind the wheel of a car. This process is beneficial to not only the subject in question, but also to other drivers on the roads and the establishment itself. Consider that an Alco Buddy machine:
· May reduce the number of impaired or intoxicated people driving.
· Assists to educate patrons to moderate and appropriately pace their drinking.
· Sets the tone and shows that the establishment cares about their customers.
Alco Buddy has, in the last couple of years, spawned a lot of cheap imitators. Alco Buddy, however, creates a product that is more advanced and of greater quality than any other in the industry. Alco-Buddy sets the standard for excellence in breathalyzer vending machines. The price, quality and overall value of their machine is far superior to any other breathalyzer machine. Through their time and effort invested into their product, they are dedicated to being the best. For more information on Alco Buddy and their product line, please contact
1180 Lincoln Ave Suite 5 Holbrook N.Y.11741, USA.
PHONE NUMBER 1888 (9) alcobuddy (1.888.925.2628)
FAX NUMBER: 631 648 7754
EMAIL: sales@alcobuddy.com
SITE: www.alcobuddy.com
Someone is killed in an alcohol related automobile accident every 50 minutes and someone is injured almost every minute.
Now, a new report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently reported the average number of deaths stemming from alcohol-related motor car crashes was nearly 150 percent higher on New Year’s Eve than the average for the same day of the week during the holiday season greater on New Year's Day than usual.
The AAA report estimates the number of alcohol-related fatalities will be especially high this year, as New Year's Eve falls on a weekend.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a large proportion of people in many states pulled over for DUIs refuse to take an alcohol breathalyzer test.
NHTSA data show that last year, 10,839 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, including 753 in December alone.
Agency trend data have consistently shown an increase in fatalities during the holiday season.
So, what can be done to curb this trend and make the roads safer on a weekend like this one when the data clearly show that there is a high risk of being involved in an alcohol related traffic situation? The Alco Buddy company of Holbrook, NY, believes that they have a solution that can help deter many of these would be drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel after a night of New Year’s Eve revelry. It appears that many establishments who cater to the New Year’s Eve party crowd agree.
Alco-Buddy is a manufacturer of an alcohol breathalyzer vending machine that is installed in establishments that serve alcohol. The premise is simple: a patron, who may or may not be over the legal driving limit, purchase a straw from the Alco Buddy machine, inserts it into the machine and blows into it. The machine, in turn, will provide that person’s BAC (blood alcohol content) before the person ever gets behind the wheel of a car. This process is beneficial to not only the subject in question, but also to other drivers on the roads and the establishment itself. Consider that an Alco Buddy machine:
· May reduce the number of impaired or intoxicated people driving.
· Assists to educate patrons to moderate and appropriately pace their drinking.
· Sets the tone and shows that the establishment cares about their customers.
Alco Buddy has, in the last couple of years, spawned a lot of cheap imitators. Alco Buddy, however, creates a product that is more advanced and of greater quality than any other in the industry. Alco-Buddy sets the standard for excellence in breathalyzer vending machines. The price, quality and overall value of their machine is far superior to any other breathalyzer machine. Through their time and effort invested into their product, they are dedicated to being the best. For more information on Alco Buddy and their product line, please contact
1180 Lincoln Ave Suite 5 Holbrook N.Y.11741, USA.
PHONE NUMBER 1888 (9) alcobuddy (1.888.925.2628)
FAX NUMBER: 631 648 7754
EMAIL: sales@alcobuddy.com
SITE: www.alcobuddy.com
Monday, January 24, 2011
Chapel Hill police crack down on serving to minors
Kathryn Ruff didn’t look at the license closely enough.
A server at Four Corners Grille, she was charged with selling a malt beverage to a minor after an undercover alcohol law enforcement check was held at the Franklin Street bar, along with 46 others in the Chapel Hill area.
“I didn’t know they send people in,” said Ruff, a first-time offender. “Pay attention, because you never know.”
Ruff was one of the 13 servers charged with selling alcohol to minors in the Jan. 7 operation, the latest in an effort to reduce underage drinking in the area.
The Alcohol Law Enforcement Response Team has issued more citations for selling alcohol to minors this year than in all of 2009, the year the group was formed.
Last year, 39 were issued.
“We’re getting stricter on enforcement,” said Chapel Hill Alcohol Enforcement Officer Debbie Timmons.
ALERT was formed in February 2009 by the Chapel Hill Police Department and the Coalition for Alcohol and Drug Free Teenagers of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
The team, comprised of local police officers, focuses on fighting underage drinking in Orange County.
Lt. Pat Burns, an ALERT coordinator and retired police officer, said the team uses underage customers to go into businesses and attempt to buy alcohol.
The minors use their own IDs, and an undercover officer is also present in the business to witness, he said.
“We don’t like to see it,” Burns said. “We’re not trying to get people out of business.”
Burns said bartenders often rely on the people working the door to check IDs, but they don’t always do it.
READ MORE HERE
A server at Four Corners Grille, she was charged with selling a malt beverage to a minor after an undercover alcohol law enforcement check was held at the Franklin Street bar, along with 46 others in the Chapel Hill area.
“I didn’t know they send people in,” said Ruff, a first-time offender. “Pay attention, because you never know.”
Ruff was one of the 13 servers charged with selling alcohol to minors in the Jan. 7 operation, the latest in an effort to reduce underage drinking in the area.
The Alcohol Law Enforcement Response Team has issued more citations for selling alcohol to minors this year than in all of 2009, the year the group was formed.
Last year, 39 were issued.
“We’re getting stricter on enforcement,” said Chapel Hill Alcohol Enforcement Officer Debbie Timmons.
ALERT was formed in February 2009 by the Chapel Hill Police Department and the Coalition for Alcohol and Drug Free Teenagers of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
The team, comprised of local police officers, focuses on fighting underage drinking in Orange County.
Lt. Pat Burns, an ALERT coordinator and retired police officer, said the team uses underage customers to go into businesses and attempt to buy alcohol.
The minors use their own IDs, and an undercover officer is also present in the business to witness, he said.
“We don’t like to see it,” Burns said. “We’re not trying to get people out of business.”
Burns said bartenders often rely on the people working the door to check IDs, but they don’t always do it.
READ MORE HERE
Cops Spot Car Damage, Arrest Drunk Driver
Braintree police spotted Stephen La, 30, of Randolph driving on Granite Street with what appeared to be fresh damage from an accident early Sunday morning.
A piece of La's Infinity EX35 – the rear bumper – was extending out from the vehicle, and so officer Kenneth Murphy pulled him over and immediately suspected La was intoxicated.
"La agreed to perform several sobriety tests and at the conclusion of the tests he was placed under arrest," Deputy Chief Russell Jenkins said in a press release. "Once at the police station, La agreed to take a breath test and recorded a reading almost twice the legal limit."
The legal limit is 0.08 percent.
He was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
SOURCE
A piece of La's Infinity EX35 – the rear bumper – was extending out from the vehicle, and so officer Kenneth Murphy pulled him over and immediately suspected La was intoxicated.
"La agreed to perform several sobriety tests and at the conclusion of the tests he was placed under arrest," Deputy Chief Russell Jenkins said in a press release. "Once at the police station, La agreed to take a breath test and recorded a reading almost twice the legal limit."
The legal limit is 0.08 percent.
He was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
SOURCE
Small Business Startup News
A survey, released Monday, from the National Association of Business Economics is reporting that during the last three months of 2010, industry demand increased for the sixth consecutive quarter, with 55 percent of survey respondents reporting rising demand versus 12 percent reporting falling demand.
Additionally, these increases coincide with a significantly improved economic outlook. Sixty-two percent of respondents are planning for 2 to 3 percent GDP growth this year.
"The number of firms expressing positive hiring plans is at a level not seen in over a decade - a sign of improving labor market dynamics. Supporting these hiring plans, industry demand continues to move higher, and profit margins are expanding," said Shawn DuBravac of the Consumer Electronics Association.
Despite the survey's inclusion of both small and large businesses, 2011 is forecast to be a much more profitable year, as banks begin lending at a more vigorous pace and consumer optimism continues to grow.
SOURCE
Additionally, these increases coincide with a significantly improved economic outlook. Sixty-two percent of respondents are planning for 2 to 3 percent GDP growth this year.
"The number of firms expressing positive hiring plans is at a level not seen in over a decade - a sign of improving labor market dynamics. Supporting these hiring plans, industry demand continues to move higher, and profit margins are expanding," said Shawn DuBravac of the Consumer Electronics Association.
Despite the survey's inclusion of both small and large businesses, 2011 is forecast to be a much more profitable year, as banks begin lending at a more vigorous pace and consumer optimism continues to grow.
SOURCE
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