Just a thought...

From the Newport News Times:

One man died and another faces criminal charges as a result of a traffic crash Saturday night on Pioneer Mountain Loop.Dead is Aaron Allan Handy, 25, of Springfield, who was a passenger in a 1972 Chevrolet Blazer being driven by Steven James Berliner, 25, of Toledo. Aaron Patrick Strom, 25, also of Toledo, was a passenger in the vehicle as well.At about 10:25 p.m., Lincoln County Sheriff's Deputies, the Oregon State Police, Toledo Fire Rescue, and Pacific West Ambulance were dispatched to a report of a crash on Pioneer Mountain Loop near milepost 1.7.

According to OSP, Berliner was driving west when he failed to negotiate a curve and drove off the road. The vehicle hit a tree and rolled down an embankment, ejecting the occupants. All three were transported to Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport. Handy was pronounced dead at the hospital. Berliner and Strom were treated for their injuries and released.

The Lincoln County Multi-Agency Crash Team was called out to investigate the accident, and it was determined that alcohol was a factor in the crash. None of the occupants of the vehicle were wearing safety belts at the time of the accident.Berliner was arrested after being treated at the hospital, and he was lodged at the Lincoln County Jail on charges of criminally negligent homicide, Assault II, reckless driving, Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, and driving while suspended. His bail was set at $97,500.

Now, I have a question here...

We've all done stupid stuff under the influence of alcohol (well, all the cool people anyway). We've all taken stupid chances when we were young, you know how it goes. However, if you were going to let someone who's been drinking drive you home, why wouldn't you wear a seatbelt?

It's pretty dumb not to buckle up in the first place, but if your driver has alcohol in him, you'd be suicidal not to put your belt on! I just don't understand it... Of course, they picked the guy who was not only drinking but had a suspended license to drive them home. These weren't exactly rocket surgeons.

And just so this post isn't solely about making fun of injured and dead people, here's some interesting stats from MADD Online:

For fatal crashes occurring from midnight to 3:00 AM, 77 percent involved alcohol in 2003. The next most dangerous time period for alcohol-related crash deaths were 9 PM to midnight (64 percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol), followed by 3 AM to 6 AM (60 percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol). (NHTSA, 2004)

The rate of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes is more than 3 times as high at night as during the day (61 percent vs. 18 percent). For all crashes, the alcohol involvement rate is 5 times as high at night (16 percent vs. 3 percent). (NHTSA, 2004)

In 2003, 30 percent of all fatal crashes during the week were alcohol-related, compared to 53 percent on weekends. For all crashes, the alcohol involvement rate was 5 percent during the week and 12 percent during the weekend. (NHTSA, 2004)

The lesson here? At 2am Saturday morning, get the hell off the road! You're gonna die!