BATON ROUGE – With the upcoming New Year’s Holiday, the Louisiana State Police wants to remind motorists to drive carefully this holiday season and make it a safe holiday for everyone traveling on Louisiana’s roadways.  Troopers from Louisiana State Police Troop A, in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, will conduct a Sobriety Checkpoint in East Baton Rouge Parish tonight, Dec 29.  Troopers and Wildlife Agents will be working together in an effort to keep impaired drivers off our roadways and ensure everyone’s safety.

Every year on the roadways across the state, thousands of people are killed and seriously injured because of impaired drivers. The consequences of drinking and driving can be costly no matter how many drinks you have consumed. Last year alone, 303 of the 720 people killed on our highways (42%) were involved in alcohol related crashes.  

Making poor decisions in a vehicle such as driving impaired, driving while distracted, or not wearing a seat belt leads to serious injuries and deaths every day across the state.  Making the responsible decision can mean the difference between life and death.

Public hearings are scheduled starting Dec. 5 in each of the five parishes that would be impacted by the proposed Baton Rouge Loop project.  Mayor Kip Holden said the hearings are part of a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement required by the Federal Highway Administration and are an opportunity for local residents to provide written or recorded comments on the project. 

A loop system for Baton Rouge to supplement Interstates 10 and 12 has been discussed for decades and studied extensively. The Baton Rouge Loop project (BR Loop) is proposed as an 80 to 90 mile long circumferential controlled access free-flow toll roadway around the Metro Area. The project study area is located in the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Livingston, and West Baton Rouge.
 
The BR Loop would initially be constructed as a four-lane facility with the ability to add at least two additional lanes, one in each direction, in the median when traffic demands warrant. The proposed typical section also provides space within the right-of-way to add continuous frontage roads, if needed.

When a child is left in a vehicle, or worse, dies, people are outraged!  “How could you forget your child in the car?”  That is the million-dollar question.  It seems to happen more, during the summer months and as families get busier.  49 children died in 2010 as a result of being left in a vehicle, and June 2011 marked the 500th child vehicular heat stroke death; this is not a milestone to be celebrated, but one to call caregivers to action!

Most people find it hard to understand, but it could happen to anyone.  The most dangerous mistake a parent or caregiver could make is to think it could never happen to them!  In more than 50% of the cases, the person responsible for the child’s death unknowingly left the child in the vehicle, and they were loving and protective parents.  It has happened to a teacher, pediatrician, dentist, postal clerk, social worker, police officer, nurse, clergyman, electrician, accountant, solider, assistant principle and even a rocket scientist!

Many factors play into why or how children are left in vehicles.Juggling multiple kids, working a full time job, taking care of the house, experiencing a change in routine, stress, fatigue or a baby sleeping peacefully in their car seat could lead to a child being forgotten in a vehicle.  “Memory is a machine and it is not flawless.  Our conscious mind prioritizes things by importance, but on a cellular level, our memory does not.  If you are capable of forgetting your cell phone, you are potentially capable of forgetting your child. (David Diamond, Professor of Molecular Physiology, University of South Florida).