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In the Christmas/New Year Holiday season 1981/82, a young boy was knocked from his bicycle by a repeat offender drink driver. Suffering horrific injuries, the boy died in the early hours of the next morning.
In mid 1983, as a result of the offender receiving a very lenient penalty, People Against Drink Driving was born. This organization was born out of a strong desire that other families should not suffer the same trauma, and that Australia's roads might become safer for all.
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Douglas was 27 when returning home from work late one afternoon. A drink driver, in excess of the legal blood alcohol limit (BAC), turned across the path of his motor cycle and critically injured him. He died two days later. Doug's wife Neryl, was 31 weeks pregnant with their first child, Carly, and was left to bring her up on her own.
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The drink driver was acquitted of dangerous driving causing death, with the defence counsel denying any involvement of alcohol in the crash. At a later hearing of the drink driving charge, concerning the same incident, he pleaded guilty. He was fined $200,000 and was disqualified from driving for five months. This same man had three previous drink driving convictions - and now he had taken a life!
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Every year in Australia, hundreds of innocent people like Doug are killed by drink drivers. Thousands are permanently injured or maimed, with tremendous life-long suffering to themselves and those loving family members who must care for them. The annual cost to the community in human resources and monetary terms runs into millions of dollars.
It Need Not Continue to Happen!
The answer is in each person showing concern for the other, and in not mixing drinking and driving.
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