[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 49 (Monday, December 7, 1998)]
[Pages 2426-2427]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7155--National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month, 
1998

December 4, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    For most Americans, driving an automobile has become a practical 
necessity. Whether in an urban, suburban, or rural setting, the daily 
routine of modern life requires that we have access to reliable and 
affordable transportation from our homes to our offices, schools, 
shopping, and elsewhere. But the right to drive a vehicle brings with it 
the responsibility to drive safely. A fundamental part of this 
responsibility is the need to stay free from alcohol and drugs when 
driving. Driving under the influence of alcohol or mind-altering drugs 
can turn an automobile into a lethal weapon.
    The Department of Transportation released some encouraging data 
earlier this year regarding injuries and fatalities caused by drunk or 
drugged drivers. The number of Americans killed in alcohol-related 
crashes last year dropped to an all-time low, representing a decline of 
more than 30 percent since 1982. Drunk-driving deaths accounted for less 
than 40 percent of all traffic deaths,

[[Page 2427]]

and alcohol-related fatalities among 15- to 20-year-olds dropped by 5 
percent last year alone. We have achieved this progress because of 
stronger laws, tougher enforcement, and increased public awareness. 
These statistics also reflect the effectiveness of the legislation I 
fought for and signed into law 3 years ago to help ensure zero tolerance 
for underage drinking and driving.
    But there is more we must do. Last year, more than 16,000 Americans 
lost their lives to impaired driving, and hundreds of thousands more 
were injured. Research shows that the risk of being involved in a fatal 
car crash is 11 times greater when drivers have a blood alcohol content 
(BAC) exceeding .08. By passing a tough national standard of impaired 
driving at .08 BAC--an important measure I continue to challenge the 
Congress to enact--we could save additional lives. At my direction, the 
Secretary of Transportation developed a plan to make .08 BAC the 
standard on Federal property, such as national parks and military bases, 
and included in his plan a strategy to raise public awareness of the 
risks associated with drinking and driving. Federal agencies currently 
are implementing the Secretary's recommendations.
    In memory of the thousands who have lost their lives to drunk and 
drugged drivers, I ask all motorists to participate in ``National Lights 
on for Life Day'' on Friday, December 18, 1998, by driving with vehicle 
headlights illuminated. By doing so, we will call attention to this 
critical national problem and remind others on the road of the 
responsibility to drive free of the influence of drugs and alcohol.
    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 
1998 as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month. I urge all 
Americans who drive to take responsibility for themselves, their loved 
ones, guests, and passengers; to stop anyone under the influence of 
alcohol or mind-altering drugs from getting behind the wheel; and to 
help teach our young people safe and alcohol- and drug-free driving 
behavior.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of 
December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., December 8, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
December 9.