According ToMADD
Drunk Drivers Cost Society
)
<
■
By Lori Grier
Post Staff Writer
"THEY’RE MADD, AND
THEY THINK YOU i
SHOULD BE TOO!
The following statistics
about drunk drivers are
life taking. You should be
aware of what they are,
because one day you might
be included in them.
Drunk drivers cause
more deaths, injuries and
destruction than murder
ers, muggers, robbers,
rapists and thieves. Over
the past decade, 250,000
Americans have died be
cause of drunken drivng
an average of 25,000 Ame
ricans a year, or 70 a day.
This is more than five
times the number of U.S.
combat deaths in Vietnam.
Drunk drivers cost society
924 billion each year in
court time, rehabilitation,
lost earnings and other
expenses. MADD’i
(Mothers Against Drunk
• Drivers) is the VOICE of
the VICTIM. It is dedicated
to bringing victims’ rights
and the issues of drunk
driving into the public eye -
and keeping them there.
Mothers Against Drunk
Drivers began as Candy
Lightner’s crusade for per
sonal Justice when her
daughter, Cari, was struck
and killed by a hit-and-run
drunk driver on May 3,
I960. At one time MADD
consisted of Candy and a
few friends working out of
her bonne. Today, it is a
movement of victims and
concerned men and women
with more than 96 chapters
in more than 30 states.
Mrs. Lucy Dickens, uro
gram chairman of the
Charlotte Chapter of
MADD, became a member
at the first meeting held
May, 1963. There are eight
active members, four who
attend according to the
schedules and 75 who give
monetary contributions.
Their meetings being at 6
p m. on the Third Tuesday
of each month in the Youth
Lounge at St. John’s Bap
tist Church. Mrs. Carolyn
Williams, president, has
one son; Paul Alwine, vice
president, has two children
' ^ “a “d
L®cy Dickens is shown with her six and one-half
year-old daughter. Rachel.
Mrs. Card York, secre
tary-treasurer, has two
sons. Ironically, none of the
members of the Charlotte
Chapter of MADD have lost
any children to drunk
drivers.
“I got involved with
MADD because I wanted to
live to be a mother. I
almost didn’t live to get
married,” began Dickens.
The mother of six and
one-half year-old Rachel
recalls the terrible incident
which took place in Janu
ary, 1981. “My boy friend,
Hank (now husband), an
other man and I were in
volved in a car accident
caused by a drunk driver.
The drunk driver crossed
five lanes to hit my car
head on and I slammed on
my brakes. I wondered
what it would be like to be
dead. His car was drivable,
but mine cost me almost
14,000 worth of damage. I
told him, ‘You could have
killed us!’ He said, ‘Shut
up! It happens all the
time.’”
According to Dickens,
die police let Mm drive
away from the scene know
ing that be was intoxicat
ed, because be only lived
three blocks away. She was
^•enUd^wayftemhame
and had to get there the
best way she could. The
police also gave the drunk
driver, who had no car
insurance, tickets for fail
ure to control speed and
failure to avoid an acci
dent.
The full-time mother
laughs about the unbeliev
able act of the police aad
adds, “1 feel fortunate
that I wasn’t injured. I only
received scrapes and bruis
es on my legs and a bump
on the bead from the sun
visor. Some people are
crippled or maimed for
Hfe.” She married Hank
nine months after the car
accident.
When Dickens was a kin
dergarten teacher in Texas
in 1878 she attended a
, funeral with four caskets.
One casket contained
the body of Mr student
who, along with three
members of her family
were killed in a car acci
dent caused by a drunk
driver. The student left
behind, her father and two
brothers. Two of the three
boys were UV^I ia the car
which contained the drunk
driver.
On the weekend aMlai
loween, 1982, Rose little,
drhupr, WfruwsHjapr
^2“S3S£1MJ
way, near Outlet Square
Mall, going went bound
on out bound aid* she
sidqpwiped one oar and hit
anotbnr «ne trend on, The
pssamger of Little's car
<fi#d, and. several others
werq, injured,.. Dickens
mentioned that Judge
Griffin gave Little, a $100
One, convicted her of man
slaughter and told her not
to drive, in North Carolina
while intoxicated. : ,
All of the above ind
denfr bring, about the pur
pose and goals of MAPD in
Charlotte.,: “1$b are not
against driaUqg,.JbuL we
want to try tognt the drunk
driver off the rgad and
change people’s attitudes
about driving after drink
ing. We want to see the
laws tighten up against
drunk drivers and try to be
a preventive force against
them. Hie fines the judg
es give to drunk driven in
Winn-Dixie Stares, Inc.,
reported sales for the 16
weeks ending January 11,
19M, Of $2,204,283,000, as
compared with $2,154,908,
000 for the comparable
period ended January 12,
1983, an increase of 2.3
percent.
Par the 28 weeks —Mttng
January 11, the sales total
was $3,852,289,000, com
pared with $3,737,727,000,
an increased of 3.1 per
cent.
, Earnings after taxes for
the 16 wee); period were
$95,014,000, or M per
shore, compared with $32,
865,080, or .79 per share last
year. Cumulative current
year earnings amounted to
$54,413,000, or 1.32 per
share, compared with $53,
_ _ . _t
• Custom homes
• Quality construction
• Country setting with 8-acre lake
• 7 minutes to downtown Charlotte
• 10 minutes to shopping centers *
• Within walking distance to Hornets Nest Park
• 12 minutes to Lake Norman
• 6 miles to Lotto Park — ~
** • '--m'* '
v • . *..-£/ mT T/ % * •
*-■*• jf11*-;. /. •*', ,Jt . , :-.fr , ■ , i ^ F
Visit Information Center on Saturdays and Sundays 2-5 p.m.
For directions or further details coll Coro/yn James NMMTorllMllT
Mecklenburg County are
ridiculous,” is the concen
sus of MADD members.
Dickens is pleased to say
that during the Christmas
weekend, thfe fatality rate
was the lowest since the
early 1940’s, and Students
Against Drunk Drivers
(SADD) has been estab
lished at East Mecklenburg
High School bod Albemarle
Road Juniosufigh School.
Mrs. LucyPickeas point
ed out, “A lot of people who
are interested in MADD
haven't gotten involved.
We > need your help to
spread the word against
drunk drivers and monitor
in courts to see how our
laws aren’t or are working
for the victims.”
To Become involved, all
you have to do is write
Mothers Against Drunk
Drivers, P. 0. Box 280045,
Charlotte, N.C. 28222 or call
588-4325.
638,000 or 1.30 per share
last year. Per share
amounts are adjusted for
the five for three stock split
in October, 1983.
Winn-Dixie opened 30
new stores and dosed 16
older stores since June 29,
1963, having 1,224 units in
operation on January 11,
1984, compared with 1,220
last year.
eU aad the National Pre-Ahunni Council,
February M2. Alumni, administrators
and students, representing tbe 42 United
Negro College Fund. Inc. institutions will
be involved in business stssinus dedi
cated to Increasing support to UNCF
schools. One of the highlights of the
conference is the UNCF Coronation
which will feature the 42 Pre-Alumni
I '
Councils’ queens. Involved in coordinate
inf the coronation are Miss. Deborah
Browning, eorooatioe coordinator; Misst
Ne<fra McGee, Miss Bennett College and'
Mrs. Ellease R. Colston, conference co-1
ordinator and director of alumni .affairs
at Bennett. The conference will be held at
the Holiday. Inn-Four Season*. . The (
coronation will be the culminating social,
event on Saturday, Febraary ll. (Phot*,
By Otis Hairston)
1 ■ — ■ —immm i
aaflaiftiftiaa
Almost Unheard Of..
EXCEPT
THE CHARLOTTE POST
• «' ‘ * ... -
Advertising.
Call For More Information
' ' ' r
____ . !" i
Nation's Largest Independent Tire Compan^h^^^^
America’s Favorite Place ,---*■ 1
i^m.—1-sr"vb,' ‘
»ttg Prtc« PrtM
PISS/BOP-tJ M.M «1J*
P1U/KM-1* tTM MM
PiM/tStia mm SS
_
(=>
I M
•TOOCg V.
... [ ■
i
\
Iioclm (i 6
2«S»W!S2SMr
—3t—oltr" ,v
52-j_m* ■*& .f
1SS-1* MOO MM Ji
145-13 00.00
• 105-13 7100
106-1* 7700
116-14
■ «fM* '-'5 *)!:
wn.il .
175/70-13
106/76-13 \1 i--,,
105/70-14
105/70-14 11*00
• iW.n,
foam\-\ -
• ^r_
V i
pisMo-is m-n »U'_
p 141/40- VJ MS-t] «« 44 yS
Pi45t40->1 C74-1J S3 70 Ml
P7M/7S-14 C74-14 U SjS
P1W'7»-1« (74*14 97% «Ut
►704/74*14 774*14 4077 ttjt
►214/74-14 074-M 4X74 53
P»4/7|*M H74-M 4444 tUt
srSi’i tS ESS
•Xk. *y p,.. ,
- -----^ . .
Performed off the
HUNTER A- lit
The most advagoed,
state-of-the-art,
alignment equipment'
avaifabm