ne-third of all college students drink mainly to get drunk. Over 40 percent reported binge drinking within 14 days of being asked the question in a survey, and the binge drinkers are six times more likely to drive after drinking than are the light drinkers. For people between the ages of 6 and 28, vehicular crashes are the single largest cause of death — and almost half these crashes are alcohol-related. DUI arrests have gone down over the years with enforcement crackdowns, but young people are still those most at risk, and in a real sense, perhaps, especially in need.

Addressing this need is what drives 26-year-old Kristin Crawford to get college kids off the road and into car or van services via National Group Rides and Designated Drivers (GRADD), the program she organized in 1993. To date, 33 colleges have operating National GRADD chapters. Another 136 have contacted Crawford and are in various stages of forming chapters.

Getting Involved
So how did someone with no personal stake in this issue — Crawford has never been hurt in a drunk-driving crash and she doesn't personally know anyone who has — get this involved in this kind of critical mass issue? Back in the 1990-91 school year, when the safe ride and designated driver movements were still very new, Crawford recalls, "I was a college student with a lot of energy and nowhere to really focus it." A friend at her school — Troy State in Alabama — needed help running the school's safe ride program. One thing led to another, and a year or so later, having transferred to the University of Florida, Crawford agreed to take over for a graduating student running a program at another Florida school.

Despite Crawford's enthusiasm, she found that there was no overall coordination among the few struggling programs at a handful of colleges. A public relations major, Crawford used the program as a learning experience, and her growing knowledge of her field to fuel the program and tie programs across the country together. Along the way, she's become more and more convinced of the need to get the word out. "College students often think of drinking as their rite of passage. College is the first time they're really away from home and their parents," Crawford points out. That combination makes for a dangerous brew: "They're indulging in newfound freedoms without parental restrictions and, too often, without any regard for responsible behavior."

Obligation and Responsibility
Responsibility is what all this is about, Crawford emphasizes. National GRADD's site makes that clear. Young adults have a responsibility to themselves and their friends, and colleges have a responsibility to their students. And both have a responsibility to the town they're in. "After all, it's the school that's attracting these high-risk residents to the community," notes Crawford.

These days Crawford is a one-person operation (welcoming both volunteers and donations), but she's single-handedly maintaining the Web site, providing statistics on the toll exacted by drunk driving and the information needed to combat it. Perhaps the most powerful information she provides is the site's "Memorial Wall," which puts a human face on all the statistics, with personal stories about the devastation that drunk driving can cause. Also, among other services, she offers a 180-page model program manual to students looking to start chapters on their own campuses. National GRADD's Web site also offers extensive links to related sites. These include participating colleges, which in turn have their own content and links. Prevention information is out there, Crawford and others involved with educational programs stress. Hopefully, those who can most benefit will be reached by their efforts.

Reported by Lisa Harbatkin for cars.com

RESOURCES
Locate hundreds of online resources related to drunken-driving and traffic safety.

NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION - ALCOHOL & DRUGS
Read NHTSA's series of reports on preventing injuries due to abuse of alcohol.