During this Labor Day weekend, many drivers will be on the roads, out to enjoy one last summer fling of fun. For too many, this will include the over-indulgence in alcohol and translate into a host of drunken drivers on the highways. This is a “tradition” which needs to end.

Drunken driving is no laughing matter. People can be seriously injured. Vehicles are totaled. And people die. Often, it’s the innocent people who die, those not drunk. Too often, the drunk driver sobers up fast when he realizes he’s killed a child or a spouse and faces long years in prison for manslaughter.

At the very least, a ticket for drunken driving has consequences which are long-reaching. Insurance rates go up. Jobs and careers are often derailed, once the news of the arrest is released. Marriages can end.

It’s tough all around, yet it’s totally preventable. You do not have to be smashed out of your skull to have a good time. You do not need “a few” drinks to be sociable. You DO need to set an example to your friends and family. It’s perfectly all right to kick back, pop on the LSU or Saints game and enjoy a tall, cool soft drink, nachos, burgers and sausages. It’s all right to show your children that alcohol abuse is NOT a vital part of any party.

Children especially need to know this lesson. They need to learn they will have a much better time if they and their friends are sober.

Holiday parties are much more fun, when you are comfortable knowing your friends will leave sober, most likely make it home alive and you can see them again.

Louisiana State Police, as well as parish and municipal law enforcement agencies, will be on high alert all holiday weekend, especially for drunken drivers and aggressive drivers. Sensible driving, sober and pleasurable, will get you to your holiday good time and bring you home alive.

Have a safe, fun and sober Labor Day!

L’Observateur