FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, November 18, 2005

Chambliss, Isakson Introduce Resolution
Encouraging Americans to “Drive Safer Sunday”

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss, R-GA., and Johnny Isakson, R-GA., today introduced a Senate Resolution to make Sunday November 27, 2005, as “Drive Safer Sunday,” which aims to raise safety awareness and reduce deaths and injuries resulting from car accidents. The Senate approved the resolution by unanimous consent.

Statistics show that the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest highway traffic day of the year. With families traveling to see relatives and students nationwide trying to get back to school, America’s highways and interstates are highly congested and present more opportunities for dangerous or fatal accidents. The resolution encourages drivers, educators, communities, trucking firms, and law enforcement agencies to work together to make the highways a safer place this Sunday after Thanksgiving.

“Too many holidays end tragically due to the careless behavior of reckless motorists,” said Chambliss. “This resolution encourages all Americans to make this holiday different by remembering to slow down, wear your seatbelt, use your signals and be aware of the other cars on the road.  Together we can reduce the number of injuries and fatalities that result from car crashes.  I want everyone to be safe wherever they travel this and every holiday season.”

“We must do a better job of educating all drivers to be safer on the road, and I am proud to join with Senator Chambliss to designate one of the biggest travel days of the year as ‘Drive Safer Sunday,’” Isakson said.

Steve and Susan Owings of Atlanta are the co-founders of an organization that aims to bring awareness to the hazards of highway travel and provide statistics and safety tips to drivers. They began their mission to make our highways safer after their sons, Peirce and Cullum Owings, were involved in a fatal wreck with a 70,000-pound truck.  Both sons were injured, but Cullum was killed as a result of the accident.

“The Sunday after Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest traffic day of the year.  It also happens to be the day our son, Cullum, was killed trying to get back to school,” said Steve Owings. “We wanted to have this special day of awareness so that people will not only be safer on this particularly congested day, but that safe driving will become a priority for all Americans.”

Motor vehicle travel is the primary means of transportation in the United States. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration shows statistics that 15,434 people’s lives were saved in 2004 as a result of wearing their seatbelts. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta called the deaths of 43,000 people a year in over 6 million highway crashes in America an “epidemic.”

Governor Perdue has also proclaimed this day “Drive Safer Sunday.”