VIDEO: 4th of July Drunk Driving

The 4th of July holiday means barbeques, fireworks, and celebrating.  But those festivities can turn tragic.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the 4th of July holiday weekend is the deadliest for drunk driving related crashes, even more so than New Year’s. 

Last year, I told you about Travis Peer.  Travis was a young man with a big heart and bright future whose life was sadly cut short by a drunk driver.  Ruth and Drew Finn, Travis’s parents, shared their story with with me and the Tampa community with the hope other families might be spared their grief.  I encourage you to watch the video above for a powerful reminder about the grave danger posed with drinking and driving. 

Don Murray, Florida’s Executive Director of MADD, says the best defense to prevent drunk driving is to plan ahead:
“The problem frankly is that when you drink, your judgment goes away and you don’t think you are impaired… and once the judgment goes, you feel perfectly content to and confident that your abilities to drive are not impaired.  People have to understand that that is the first clue that there’s trouble.”

Don encourages everyone this 4th of July to select a designated driver or chip in for a cab or other form of transportation.  For more information on drunk driving related initiatives, legislation, resources and statistics, visit MADD’s website at http://www.madd.org. 

The following is a partial list of cab services available throughout the metro Tampa area and its suburbs.

Affordable Taxi (727) 733-3333, 2647 Harbor Cir, Clearwater, FL

Action Cab & Shuttle (727) 845-3090, New Port Richey, FL

United Cab Company (813) 253-2424, 1701 W Cass St, Tampa

Yellow Cab (813) 253-3590, 502 N Oregon Ave, Tampa

A Americab Taxi, (813) 837-4455, 506 N Archer St, Tampa

ABC Taxi (813) 872-8294, 1701 W Cass St, Tampa

Florida Taxi (727) 896-5008, Tampa

Gulf Coast Transportation (813) 251-3107, 1701 W Cass St, Tampa

Cab Plus Incorporated, (813) 250-0990, Hyde Park, Tampa

Tampi Taxi Incorporated, (813) 888-5008, 4105 N Florida Ave, Tampa

United Cab Company (813) 251-6494, 1701 W Cass St, Tampa

Wishing you and your family a safe and relaxing 4th.
Alicia