The holiday season is a great time tovisit family, but few adult gatherings are alcohol-free. This meansthat more people may be driving impaired than other times of theyear. A study of information from theNational Center for Statistics and Analysis shows the daysimmediately preceding Christmas are among the top deadliest vehiclefatality days of the year. The Thanksgiving holidays supply anothersurge upward in traffic deaths.



In Texas, the risk may be higher thanin other states, based on the state's past record. According toNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Texas ranked numberone in alcohol-related crashes in 2006. More than 1,500 Texans wholost their lives in traffic crashes in 2005 had alcohol in theirblood at the time of the accident.

Central Texas counties lost more than219 citizens to alcohol-related traffic accidents in 2006. TravisCounty has the highest number of alcohol-related crashes of thecentral region, at 64 in 2006. The Texas counties with the highestrates per 100,000 are Wheeler County (103), Roberts County (120) andOldham County (140).

?You never want to lose a familymember to an accident, but losing one around a family holiday justmakes the pain worse,? stated Ryan Thorpe, Director of Admissionsat Narconon Arrowhead, one of the country's leading drug andalcohol rehabilitation centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma. ?Anyfamily member who can't make rational choices when it comes toalcohol use needs immediate help to prevent such disasters. AtNarconon, we have been helping people overcome substance abuseproblems for the last forty years. With 70 percent of those we havehelped remaining substance-free two years after graduation, we havehelped to make the holiday season safer for everyone.?

Mr. Thorpe pointed out that during theholidays, requests for help that Narconon receives increase. ?Asurvey of families coming to us for help found that 73 percentexperience more problems, upsets and emotionally traumatic situationsduring the holiday season than any other part of the year. The rightmoment to get an addicted person help is really the very first momentyou can and no later. You want to avoid any possibility that theywill add to the traffic fatality statistic.?