Released on: April 22, 2008, 2:28 pm

Press Release Author: Arbor Books

Industry: Law

Press Release Summary: SUMMER CELEBRATIONS RAISE DANGER OF DRUNK DRIVING

Press Release Body: (OAK RIDGE, NJ)-As summer approaches, everyone looks forward to
barbecues, backyard parties, and celebrating holidays like Memorial Day and July 4th
with a few nice, cold beers.

What they don't foresee, however, are the consequences they face when they leave
those parties inebriated and get behind the wheel of a car.

"Unfortunately, drunk driving has almost become a summertime tradition," says
Stephen Della Valle, author of the new addiction and recovery memoir Rising Above
the Influence. "People get together to eat, drink and enjoy the weather, and forget
to monitor their alcohol intake or appoint a designated driver."

Statistics show that almost half of all traffic accident fatalities on Memorial Day
and July 4th can be blamed on alcohol.

"Driving under the influence is an easily preventable phenomenon," says Mr. Della
Valle. "When you go to a friend's barbecue and have to drive yourself home, take
responsibility-limit how much you drink, or find someone to give you a ride. It's
really as simple as that."

Many people think that driving drunk or even just "buzzed" is harmless. However,
that sort of thinking has led to:
. Over 16,000 fatal, alcohol-related traffic accidents in a year-that's one every
thirty minutes
. One death caused by a drunk driver every thirty-nine minutes
. Close to 1.4 million arrests per year for DUI
. Alcohol-related crashes that have cost the American public over $114 billion
. More than half a million people injured in crashes where alcohol was present
. Over 200 children under the age of fourteen killed while riding with a drunk driver

State and national laws have aimed at combating the DUI epidemic, but it's slow
work. Aggressively enforced blood alcohol concentration limits, driver's license
suspensions, sobriety checkpoints and community-based approaches have all proven
effective in stemming the DUI problem-but not eradicating it.

"Addiction is often at the heart of the problem here," notes Mr. Della Valle. "And
that's not an easy battle to win. But no matter the cause, DUI is really a national
crisis that cannot be ignored."

Stephen Della Valle is president of the board of directors at Turning Point
rehabilitation center in Verona, New Jersey. Currently celebrating twenty years of
sobriety, he lives in Oak Ridge, New Jersey, with his wife, Donna. He has three
children.

Rising Above the Influence is available now (ISBN: 0-9801776-0-X; softcover; Oak
Ridge Press) on Amazon.com, Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and at fine bookstores
everywhere.







Web Site: www.arborbooks.com

Contact Details: Arbor Books
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New York, NY 10016
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