Intoxicated Driving

Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

On Intoxicated Driving

Adopted by the CCAR at the 95th Annual Convention of

the Central Conference of American Rabbis

Grossingers, New York, June 18-21, 1984

Whereas

hundreds of thousands of North Americans are killed or permanently injured as a result

of vehicular accidents caused by intoxicated drivers each year, and

Whereas

needless death and injury are truly religious concerns and oblige us to make the

members of our congregations and organizations aware of the problem and its potential

solutions,

Be it therefore resolved

that the Central Conference of American Rabbis urge its members:

1. To educate their congregations and organizations through newsletter articles, sermons,

and mitzvah

projects about the increasing severity of the problem–that driving while intoxicated is a form of attempted murder that is too often ignored

or downplayed;

2. To support the work of organizations pressing for stricter legislation and broader

public awareness on this issue;

3. To become involved in existing “safe ride home” programs, for drivers who have

become intoxicated from liquor or narcotics, to make these programs available to

their memberships, or to encourage the formation of such programs where none exists;

4. To urge non-intoxicated passengers in vehicles being driven by intoxicated individuals

to secure permission to replace the incapable drivers or to seek alternative transportation

to further destinations and/or residences;

5. To create special programs for teenagers through religious schools and youth groups

to disseminate this information in an effective manner.