STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN HEINZ (R-PA)
HEARING ON "AVERTING ALCOHOL ABUSE"
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
21 JUNE 1989
The first time Vicki Mulvay of Lancaster, Pennsylvania came
into contact with a drunk driver, he was just 18 inches away
from entering her living room.
Unfortunately for Ms. Mulvay,
the driver was still in his car and had just ripped through
her lawn up to the front of her house. Although petrified by
this first incident, Ms. Mulvay felt lucky that she was not
one of the 534,000 people who are injured by drunk drivers
every year.
Six weeks later Vicki Mulvay was not so lucky.
While parked
at a red light, a drunk driver rammed into the back of
Vicki 's car breaking bones in her face, and injuring her
shoulder and neck.
Indeed, despite extraordinary odds, Vicki
Mulvay was struck twice in two months by a drunk driver.
Imagine how she felt when, within a year, a third drunk
driver crashed into the back of her car.
Three times because
of a drunk driver, Vicki Mulvay saw her life flash in fear
before her eyes. The only luck that Ms. Mulvay had was the
simple fact that she was not one of the 24,000 people who are
killed each year in drunk driving accidents. Vicki Mulvay
escaped with her life three times.
The story of Marvin and Veronica Meeder did not have as happy
an ending. This elderly couple from North Versailles
Pennsylvania were murdered by a driver who registered a blood
alcohol level of .26% two and a half times the official
measure of drunkeness.
The Meeders' daughter, son-in-law,
and six grandchildren who are left to cope with this tragedy
echoed the dismay of the thousands of other families ruined
by drunken driving accidents when they said that they, unlike
the drunken murderer, feel as if they "have been sentenced to
As a family which was ruined by one of the 908 drunk
driving fatalities in Pennsylvania last year, this family
reiterates that they "will never, never, forget what has
life".
happened to them".
Indeed, Mr. Chairman, we as legislators must show that we
will never forget the pain of these victims by putting an end
to this murderous lunacy which is responsible for the death
of at least one person every twenty-two minutes.
It was almost one year ago that we began the battle against
drunk driving with S. 2367 - The Drunk Driving Prevention Act
of 1988 which gave incentives to the states to implement
legal reforms and provide stricter penalties for those
drivers found under the influence of alcohol. I was proud to
be an original cosponsor of this bill which became law in
November of last year, and I am equally appreciative of the
work of this committee which, by holding hearings on this
topic of grave national importance, is continuing to fight
the battle we began last year.
In addition, I want to thank Secretary Cavasos for his
commitment to examine the available options to deal with what
the FBI calls "the most frequently committed crime in our
nation today".
As part of our nationwide war on drugs and
alcohol is included in this war we should be aware of the
need to educate the public, especially adolescents, about the
suicidal decision that people make when they drink and drive.
By vigorously educating the public about the truly epidemic
proportions of this problem along with increasing the
penalties and restrictions against those drivers found drunk,
we can begin to find a solution to a problem which the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates will
affect two out of every five Americans in their lifetime.
Again, I commend the efforts of this committee for addressing
these concerns and I sincerely hope that some day in the near
future we as a nation will understand what the organization,
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, means when it says "drunk
driving is no accident".