HALLOWEEN is a celebration - and a sobering fact about this holiday, is that while your children go door-to-door for trick or treat - life continues to go on around you....  People are driving on the roads with all the ghosts and goblins....perhaps intoxicated from their form of "celebrating the holiday...."  According to M.A.D.D. (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), some hard cold facts may send chills through your spine....Did you know that "IN THE UNITED STATES, NEARLY EVERY 45 MINUTES SOMEONE IS KILLED BY A DRUNK DRIVER?"   In addition, "ROUGHLY ONE-THIRD OF ALL DRIVERS ARRESTED OR CONVICTED OF DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED OR DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL ARE REPEAT OFFENDERS..."  Also, "THE RISK OF A DRIVER WHO HAS ONE OR MORE DWI CONVICTIONS BECOMING INVOLVED IN A FATAL CRASH IS ABOUT 1.4 TIMES THE RISK OF A DRIVER WITH NO DWI CONVICTION!"  Last but certainly not least - "ROUGHLY 400,000 PEOPLE WERE INJURED IN ALCOHOL-RELATED CRASHES IN 2008, OR APPROXIMATELY ONE PERSON EVERY 80 SECONDS..."  Talk to your kids before they go out and hit the streets....Remember - if they are young, chances are they will have a slight safety cushion of being with you, watching for them as they dart from house to house....  When we get to tweens and teens, the need to "go with their friends, with no parents" becomes readily apparent....WARN THEM, REMIND THEM, TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE DOING, TO BE AWARE OF THEIR SURROUNDINGS, TO BE ALERT AT ALL TIMES, AND ABOVE ALL - TO WATCH OUT FOR THE OTHER GUY (THE ONES IN THE CARS)!!!!

 ... more to come....

 I would like to talk a bit more about M.A.A.D. - no, not being mad - like my little emoticon at the beginning of this paragraph - but M.A.A.D. (MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING)...  First and foremost, I am an active contributing member in this organization, and consider its mission - "TO STOP DRUNK DRIVING, SUPPORT THE VICTIMS OF THIS VIOLENT CRIME, AND PREVENT UNDERAGE DRINKING" - soooooo important in todays' society!  You may wonder "How does this apply to neighborhood watch?" - good question!!!  To me - especially if you live in an area with many school-age children, tweens, and teens - there are two (2) very serious topics that form threads within the blanket of "neighborhood watch"....What are they?  SEX OFFENDERS and DRUNK DRIVERS.  In my opinion, you can not learn enough about each topic, and how they can each ruin a family in a moments notice....  Educate, educate, educate your family - not only the adolescents, but the adults as well!  Back to M.A.A.D. - do you know what an "IGNITION INTERLOCK" is???  I quote:  "An alcohol ignition interlock is a small, sophisticated device - about the size of a cell phone - which is installed into the starting circuit of a vehicle."  "A driver must blow into the device and the vehicle will not start if the driver has measurable alcohol in their system."  "If the driver does not have alcohol above the measurable level in their system, the vehicle will start normally."  "Interlocks may be set for ""running retests, "" which require a driver to provide breath tests at regular intervals, preventing drivers from ASKING A SOBER FRIEND TO START THE CAR!"  Thank you M.A.A.D. - for this information!!!!....more to come....

 Here are some interesting "interlock facts", once again provided by M.A.A.D. - Did you know that "STUDIES HAVE SHOWN IGNITION INTERLOCKS ARE 64 PERCENT EFFECTIVE, ON AVERAGE, IN REDUCING REPEAT DRUNK DRIVING OFFENSES?"  Also - "RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THOSE CONVICTED OF DRUNK DRIVING FOR THE FIRST TIME HAVE DRIVEN DRUNK MORE THAT 87 TIMES BEFORE THEIR FIRST ARREST!"  That fact alone, is absolutely unbelievable - I mean - just look at the percentages...87 times sure puts the "innocents" at great risk....  "TWO-THIRDS OF DRUNK DRIVING OFFENDERS CONTINUE TO DRIVE EVEN WHEN THEIR LICENSE IS SUSPENDED...."  This reality is difficult to control, but with stepped - up enforcement by authorities - which is clearly evident, especially around holidays - there is a chance that your trip to grandma's will come to volition - without losing your life!  "IN 2008, THERE WERE 1.4 MILLION DUI / DWI ARRESTS BUT ONLY 180,000 VEHICLES WITH IGNITION INTERLOCKS NATIONWIDE..."  I certainly commend those out on the street looking for these loose cannons and truthfully, you can clearly see that YES - the tickets and arrests are indeed being written and made....BUT....it appears that once these cases get to court, the judicial system has a different way of thinking....  I just don't see the CONVICTIONS - THE JAIL TIME - THE COMMUNITY SERVICE....do you?  One thing is certain - "THOUSANDS OF LIVES COULD BE SAVED IF IGNITION INTERLOCKS WERE INSTALLED ON CONVICTED OFFENDERS' VEHICLES!"