RED RIBBON CAMPAIGN SERVES A SOBER REMINDER

Holidays, alcohol and automobiles are a dangerous combination.

During Thanksgiving 1997, 570 people died in traffic accidents nationwide, 230 of which were alcohol related.

Of the 478 traffic fatalities during Christmas weekend 1997, 208 were due to alcohol-related accidents.

On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, 129 of the 192 traffic fatalities were victims of alcohol-related accidents.

On Wednesday, members of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Community Action Team, along with representatives from the Cape Girardeau police and fire departments and the Cape Girardeau County Ambulance Service, were at Fire Station 1 to kick off the annual Red Ribbon Campaign.

This year's campaign, dubbed "Tie One on for Safety," will run from Thanksgiving Day through New Year's Day. Motorists are asked to tie a red ribbon to the antennae or mirrors of their vehicles to serve as reminders to all motorists not to drink and drive.

Sharee Galnore, coordinator for the action team, said that each year MADD selects a place appropriate to the issue of drinking and driving as the kickoff spot for the red ribbon drive. The fire station was selected because firefighters, along with ambulance personnel and police, respond to traffic accidents.

Cape Girardeau Fire Chief Dan White said his department responds to numerous accidents throughout the area.

"We've seen a lot of times that the only reason there was an accident was because someone was drinking and driving," White said.

"And all too often it is the other person who was not drinking who gets killed or injured," he said. "It's all so unnecessary."

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Rick Hetzel added that the red ribbons serve as a visual reminder to the public to drive safely and not to drink and drive during the season.

More than 20,000 red ribbons have been distributed through schools, churches, businesses, hospitals and law enforcement agencies throughout the county. Ribbons are available to the public at the Cape Girardeau and Jackson police departments and the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department.

Galnore said that businesses, churches, schools or other agencies wishing to participate in the program may secure ribbons by calling 335-7908.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that last year 16,189 people were killed nationwide in alcohol-related traffic accidents, an average of one person every 32 minutes. An additional 1,058,990 people were injured in alcohol-related accidents, an average of one person every 30 seconds.

Each year 30,000 people suffer permanent work-related disabilities from alcohol-related accidents. The accidents are also the leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults in the United States, the traffic safety administration reported.

MADD will hold its fourth annual Candlelight Vigil of Remembrance on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. on the lawn of the police department. The vigil commemorates people who have been killed or injured by drunk drivers. County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle and Hetzel will speak at the vigil.

Family members of victims and survivors of accidents will be given ornaments to hang on a Christmas tree at the police station following the vigil. The ornaments bear the names of those killed or injured in alcohol-related accidents.