Recent statistics on fatalities involving drunk drivers show that the number of people killed in alcohol related crashes since 2002 are declining. But, what we need to remember is that these statistics are not just numbers on a graph. These statistics represent a person – someone’s loved one, whether they are family, friend, neighbor, co-worker or an acquaintance.

Unlike contracting cancer or some other terminal illness, fatalities caused by a drunk driver are 100 percent preventable. Drunk driving is a choice. You cannot choose to get or not get cancer. You cannot choose to have or not have a heart attack. But you can choose to drive drunk.

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Most of us have at least one parking or speeding ticket in our driving careers. We get assessed points against our licenses, pay our fines and promise not to do it again. But, according to a Denver Post article, there may be about 225,000 illegal drivers in Colorado. These illegal drivers caused nearly one-fourth of all traffic deaths in Colorado last year.

In 2008, Colorado saw 548 people killed in motor vehicle crashes, and of those, 130 of these fatalities (24 percent) involved illegal drivers. According to the auditors’ report, only seven other states had a higher rate of fatal crashes involving illegal drivers last year.

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Driving under the influence. Illegal lane change. Driving without a license (twice). Driving with false plates. Failure to show proof of insurance.

These are charges filed against unlicensed, illegal immigrant Daniel Barrales, since August 2007. Yet, on Saturday, October 5, 2008 Daniel Barrales was behind the wheel again without a license. And this time, he sent three victims to the hospital, including his 24 year old sister-in-law, his 3 year old niece, and his 5 month old nephew.
Fortunately, this time the injuries were not fatal.

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