[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 233 (Monday, December 6, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 68269-68270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31740]



[[Page 68267]]

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Part V





The President





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Proclamation 7257--National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month, 
1999
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 233 / Monday, December 6, 1999 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 68269]]

                Proclamation 7257 of November 30, 1999

                
National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention 
                Month, 1999

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Drivers who operate motor vehicles while under the 
                influence of alcohol or drugs are one of our Nation's 
                greatest public safety risks; those drivers take 
                advantage of the privilege of driving without assuming 
                the corresponding responsibility of driving safely. In 
                1996 alone, more than 46 million Americans drove their 
                cars within 2 hours of using drugs, alcohol, or both, 
                causing death or injury to themselves and thousands of 
                others each year.

                Thanks to the grassroots activism of organizations such 
                as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, greater public 
                awareness of the dangers of impaired driving, and 
                stronger laws and stricter enforcement, we have made 
                progress in our efforts to keep drunk and drugged 
                drivers off the road and reduce alcohol-related 
                fatalities. Last year, the number of people killed in 
                alcohol-related crashes reached a record low, and the 
                number of young people killed in such accidents fell to 
                the lowest rate ever recorded. But as anyone who has 
                lost a loved one to an alcohol-related crash will 
                attest, one impaired driver on the road is one too 
                many.

                That is why safety continues to be my Administration's 
                top transportation priority, and that is why we remain 
                committed to eliminating drunk and drugged driving. 
                Because research shows that the risk of a fatal car 
                crash significantly increases when a driver's blood 
                alcohol content (BAC) exceeds .08, I continue to 
                challenge the Congress to enact a tough national 
                standard of impaired driving at .08 BAC. In support of 
                this goal, last July Vice President Gore announced 
                incentive grants totaling $57 million to 17 States and 
                the District of Columbia for lowering the legal 
                threshold for drunk driving to .08 BAC. These grants 
                make up part of the more than $500 million in Federal 
                grants authorized under the Transportation Equity Act 
                for the 21st Century, which I signed into law June 9, 
                1998, to offer States incentives to enact and enforce 
                laws that make driving with .08 BAC or greater a drunk 
                driving offense.

                I am pleased that today, thanks to legislation I signed 
                in 1995, every State in our Nation and the District of 
                Columbia has enacted zero tolerance laws for underage 
                drinking and driving. I urge leaders and policymakers 
                at the State and local level to continue to focus 
                resources and public attention on drunk- and drugged-
                driving prevention and enforcement programs. Using 
                these three powerful tools--increased public awareness, 
                stronger laws, and tougher enforcement--we can make our 
                neighborhoods and highways safer and continue to reduce 
                deaths and injuries.

                In memory of the thousands of people who have lost 
                their lives to alcohol- and drug-impaired driving, I 
                ask that all motorists participate once again this year 
                in a ``National Lights on for Life Day.'' By driving 
                with car headlights illuminated on Friday, December 17, 
                1999, we will underscore the profound responsibility 
                each of us has to drive free from the influence of 
                alcohol or drugs.

[[Page 68270]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim December 1999 as National 
                Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month. I urge all 
                Americans to recognize the dangers of impaired driving, 
                to take responsibility for themselves and others around 
                them, to prevent anyone under the influence of alcohol 
                or drugs from getting behind the wheel, and to help 
                teach our young people about the importance of safe 
                driving.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirtieth day of November, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 99-31740
Filed 12-3-99; 8:59 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P