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Santa is coming to town, please don't hit him...don't drink and drive
By Allen Rich
Dec 21, 2010
Denison -- Santa isn't the only one watching to see who is being naughty or nice -- law enforcement departments all across North Texas will be out in force throughout the holidays watching for impaired drivers and suspicious activity.
That message played loud and clear at a press conference held north of Denison at the TxDOT Travel Information Center on U.S. Hwy. 69/75.
Representatives from Texas Department of Public Safety, Denison Police Department, Hunt County Sheriff's Office, Sherman Police Department, Grayson County Sheriff's Office and Texas Department of Transportation were in attendance and even Santa showed up for a pre-Christmas traffic briefing.
Santa said that his sleigh does, in fact, have after-market seatbelts installed and he never endangers those around him by texting Mrs. Claus when driving.
Santa seemed to allude at how Blitzen got his nickname when he said that was one reindeer they didn’t even let park the sleigh, much less drive it.
“After all these years without so much as a fender-bender with the sleigh, wouldn’t it be a shame to have a serious accident ruin Christmas, particularly if caused by someone’s careless and very preventable decision to take the wheel in an impaired state,” Santa remarked.
“Santa Claus is coming to town, please don’t hit him…don’t drink and drive,” said TxDOT Traffic Safety Coordinator Patsy Wall.
“The message is we don’t want anyone to get behind the wheel of a car if they’ve had anything to drink,” stated TxDOT Paris District Engineer Bobby Littlefield. “Out of approximately 3,000 traffic fatalities in Texas last year, about 1,000 involved alcohol. That is totally unacceptable. All of us play a part to make sure no one we know drives if they’ve had anything to drink.”
DPS certainly intends to do its part.
“The Department of Public Safety will have all available personnel on duty,” said DPS trooper Mark Tackett.
Lieutenant Mike Eppler of the Denison Police Department advised that his officers will be out in force looking for drunk drivers and other suspicious activity.
This is the 13th consecutive year TxDOT is sponsoring a holiday-themed public education campaign to remind Texans not to get behind the wheel if they've been drinking.
Celebrations will be a big part of the holidays and the most important people at every party will be the designated drivers who have made the choice to help everyone get home safely. Plan now to call a taxi, catch a ride with a designated driver or just stay put if you’ve been drinking. Don’t let a good time end tragically because of one bad decision.
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