The group Mothers Against Drunk Driving is celebrating 20 years of lifesaving awareness in Iowa this month (December) with the “Tie One On For Safety” project. MADD spokeswoman Simera Reynolds encourages Iowans to pick up a red ribbon and tie it onto their vehicle’s radio antenna or side-view mirror.
Reynolds says the ribbons are available at HyVee stores, libraries and police stations. She says putting the ribbon on your car is a pledge to drive safe, sober and buckled up, adding, wearing a seat belt is the best defense against a drunk driver.
Reynolds says the red ribbons have helped make a difference in Iowa. She says the campaign is positive, upbeat and prevention-oriented. She says it makes people think ahead and plan to designate a non-drinking driver and never to serve alcohol to anyone under 21. In 2004, there were 388 fatal crashes in Iowa, 111 of them involved alcohol — or 29-percent.