Note: If you need a MADD speaker for your next meeting, you are welcome to contact me by email at monica@monicazech.com – or call (619) 219-9030.  I am a member of the MADD Speaker’s Bureau.  

Or, contact the MADD office in San Diego:

Program Specialist
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
California, San Diego Affiliate
9948 Hibert Street, Suite 107
San Diego, CA 92131

858-564-0780 ext.6664 direct
877-MADD-HELP victim support
877-572-5256 fax

MADD provides free services to victims of drunk and drugged driving. If you’ve been affected, please call our 24/7 Help Line 877-MADD-HELP or visit madd.org/help.

If you’re the victim of a DUI driver, or you’ve lost a loved one to a D.U.I. driver take action and call MADD at 1-800-GET-MADD.

*We must work together to stop the madness on our roadways…people are basically getting away with murder, even though they’ve heard over and over “don’t drink and drive!

When hosting a party:

You have the opportunity to educate by example that you don’t need alcohol to have a good time…but, make sure guests designate a SOBER driver if alcohol is being served, have them stay the night, or arrange to call a cab, UBER or Lyft driver. There’s a lot we can do to save lives by educating others of our loss! If you lost a friend, keep that friend’s death from going in vain by stopping others from drinking and driving – and never ride with someone who’s been drinking!

Also, as parents, we can also look at ourselves! Sadly, in the last several years, we’ve found more and more “parents” injuring and killing their own families while driving under the influence.  My family’s safety means more to me than alcoholic beverages! So I don’t drink alcoholic beverages – it’s that simple! I’ve chosen to be a good safety role model for my daughter and others. So what are your priorities? Or, are you willing to take the risk? The risk of your family’s life!

Remember, you don’t have to be drunk to kill or injure. Alcohol is a “drug” – a “depressant”…a drug that immediately dulls the senses needed to be a safe driver! Also, always protect

The post Have You Been a Victim of a DUI Driver – There’s Help For You. appeared first on Monica Zech.

According to the AAA Foundation

Washington D.C. Aug 2019 source (AAA NEWEROOM)

As a compassionate and encouraging guide for safe driving, we want to remind you of the importance of being vigilant and prepared when approaching intersections. One essential tactic is to gently lift your foot off the accelerator and “cover the brake.” By positioning your right foot just above the brake pedal without actually touching it, you can significantly increase your reaction time if needed. Additionally, keep an eye on “stale” green lights, as these are more likely to change to yellow as you approach the intersection. To avoid any sudden stops and ensure the safety of drivers behind you, don’t forget to tap the brakes a couple of times before fully applying them to slow down. Lastly, always remember to drive defensively. Even when the light turns green for you, take a moment to look both ways before proceeding through the intersection. By incorporating these simple yet effective techniques, you’ll not only protect yourself but also contribute to a safer driving environment for everyone on the road.

I cover this topic in my safe driving talks, alerting motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists to use extra caution at intersections:

• Slow down for intersections – so drivers behind you will slow down.
• When sitting at a red light and the light turns green for you – HOLD IT!  DON’T GO UNTIL IT’S SAFE TO GO!
• Before going – “look” to your right and then left, and then look again – watch out for the red light runner who floored a block or two away.  They may be traveling 60 to 70 mph – that’s why crashes that occur are often fatal.

Stay Alert-Stay Alive!

The post Deaths from running red lights reach a 10-year high appeared first on Monica Zech.

Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed. You cannot drive safely unless the task of driving has your full attention. Any non-driving activity you engage in is a potential distraction and increases your risk of crashing.

*Note: “I’ve been impacted three times drivers on their cell phones – so I personally know the dangers!”

Monica Zech

Safe Driving Speaker

The post April is “Distracted Driving Awareness Month”- This is a Year-Round Issue! appeared first on Monica Zech.

Jason Riley King 

Greg Moran – Reporter

A San Diego judge sentenced a former Miramar Marine who drove the wrong way down a freeway while drunk, crashing into a car full of medical students and killing two, to 17 years in prison Friday.

The sentence Judge Joan Weber handed down to Jason Riley King brought to a close a gut-wrenching case, one that the veteran jurist who has been on the bench for 28 years said was the worst case of its kind she has handled.

“This is, without question, the most tragic one I’ve ever had,” said Weber, one of the San Diego Superior Court’s most experienced judges who has presided over numerous homicide and violent crime cases.

King, 24, was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and drunken driving in January. The same jury that found King guilty of those crimes, acquitted him of the far more serious charge of murder in connection with the May 16, 2015 collision that killed two medical school students, 23-year-old Madison Cornwell and 24-year-old Anne Li Baldock.

Three others who were passengers in Cornwell’s car were seriously injured.

King was found to have a blood alcohol content of between 0.15 percent and 0.20 percent, well above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

The crash occurred on state Route 163 near Interstate 8. King, then a Miramar-based Marine, was driving south in the northbound lane following a night of heavy drinking at a Mission Valley bar.

The raised F-350 truck he was driving smashed head-on into the Prius Cornwell was piloting, shearing off the left side of the smaller car.

At the trial, Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright told the jury that both a bartender and a friend King was with tried to stop him from driving but King insisted, remarking “I got myself here, I’ll get myself home.”

King’s attorney Richard Hutton admitted in trial that his client was intoxicated and driving but said he was not guilty of murder. That would require prosecutors proving King acted deliberately, which he contended he did not.

On Friday, Hutton said Riley would have pleaded guilty much earlier, and avoided the trial, if prosecutors had not insisted on pursuing a murder charge.

Weber noted that Cornwell and Baldock were young women of great promise, one aiming to be a pediatrician and the other a neurosurgeon.

Laura Cornwell read a powerful statement in court, recalling that her daughter’s “gentle ways, smile and warmth drew people to her.”

Cornwell, Baldock and their friends were were celebrating the end of their second year of classes. The group gathered for a house party in Hillcrest, with Cornwell as the designated driver.

She dropped off one student in North Park, then headed north to the UC San Diego graduate student housing where the rest of the students lived.

One of the injured, Stosh Ozog, testified the collision left him with his spine fractured in three places, two broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a concussion and other injuries. He wore a back brace for four months and still endures pain as he continues his medical school program, he said.

Jared Molitoris said he suffered a fractured sternum and learning disabilities including memory loss, which delayed his return to medical school until last May.

A third passenger, Yuki Iizuka, has suffered severe memory loss from brain trauma, along with a fractured femur and eye and hand injuries that all required several surgeries. He resumed medical school last May.

His mother, Maki, told the judge that her son has worked incredibly hard to get back to school, but will always have to deal with the damage from the crash. She urged King, who spent most of the hearing weeping and apologized to the families in a brief statement, to do the same while in prison.

“I want you to study, learn,” she said forcefully. “I want you to learn what parents who lose children go through.”

Before pronouncing the sentence, Weber said the case had impacted six families — those of the victims and King’s, who were also in attendance. “You could not have a more tragic case than what we went through,” she said of the trial.

And she added a sad and true coda about this case and similar fatal drunken driving cases. “In 2018, as it was in 2015,” the judge said, “this crime is preventable.” With ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, taxis, and other options, drunken driving deaths can be avoided, she said.

The case prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to sign a state law last year requiring bartenders to take training in recognizing when customers are too drunk to be served more alcohol.

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