Meriden students ask you to NEVER drink and drive

Meriden SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and Rushford will conduct the Second Annual White Out Night on Friday December 30th beginning at Meriden City Hall at 5:00 pm.

Students and members of the public are encouraged and welcome to join. This activity was created to raise awareness and encourage people to be mindful of the dangers of drinking and driving while celebrating during the holiday time. 

Participants will be walking down East Main Street from City Hall to the Police Station, wearing white t-shirts the SADD students created with safe-driving messages printed on them. 

Participants will be handing out flyers and ribbons promoting a safe New Years holiday, one without drinking and driving. The red ribbons which have the message “Meriden SADD chapter and Rushford remind you NEVER drink and drive” can be tied to a car antenna as a visual reminder to not drink and drive.  

At the conclusion of the walk, participants are invited to gather at Café Dolce for hot cocoa.

Funding for this activity is provided from a grant from the Liberty Bank Foundation. The Meriden White Out Night is modeled after the successful Middletown White Out Night, sponsored by the Middletown Substance Abuse Prevention Council. SADD advisor Krystle Blake, who is an MSAPC member and her SADD students wanted to bring these messages to Meriden.

Students felt it necessary to raise awareness because statistics are alarming regarding drunk driving. Three in every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives; of fatal accidents in 2009, 32 percent involved alcohol-impaired drivers; and on average one person died every 48 minutes in 2009 due to an alcohol-impaired driver.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2010 in Connecticut, 121 people died as a result of car crashes involving drunken drivers, which was a 25% increase from 2009.    

SADD students would like to remind you that alcohol use for those under 21 is not a harmless right of passage; underage alcohol use is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined.

Our youth report that they imitate behaviors of their parents and other adults. Please remember to model safe driving habits including no texting, no cell phone use, and no drinking and driving.

The SADD students promote this activity to convey to parents and adult role models how important it is that everyone use good judgment and remain safe not only this New Years but each day.  

For those under the age of 21, alcohol use is illegal. For those over the legal drinking age of 21, please always use a designated driver and an appropriate designated driver is someone who has not consumed any alcohol.

Have a safe, healthy New Years eve!