EDITOR,

Eggnog, fruit cake and mistletoe: The holiday season is here. Some believe a successful new year starts with holiday celebrations.

Enjoy these gatherings, but remember what driving after drinking alcohol can do. Tragedies can happen.

A drunken driver hit me head-on in April 1992 when I was 16. Although this happened 20 years ago, it affects me today.

I was in a coma, paralyzed and had broken and dislocated bones. Years of therapy taught me to talk and walk again. My hearing ability is damaged, which is one reason why I have poor speech. This affects me occupationally and socially.

I never expected a drunken driver to hit me, but one did. You could be next.

Keep drunken drivers off the road by not becoming one, and influence others to do the same.

The consequences of driving drunk range from mild to severe. For mild, you will have financial penalties and the shame of an arrest. For severe, you have to recover from the injuries and live with the fact that you injured or killed an innocent person.

That is not a splendid way to start the new year.

Kudos to those who designate a sober driver, call a taxi for themselves and others when intoxicated, take the keys away from an impaired driver or report a swerving vehicle to the police.

Positive futures begin with ending parties safely.