Trooper Kevin Cook defines driver safety for Enterprise Lions

State trooper relays message of seat belt use.

By By Michelle Mann Ledger Staff Writer
Published: June 04, 2009

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Alabama State Trooper Kevin Cook gave members of the Enterprise Lions Club two simple reasons to buckle their seat belts while driving.
“It only takes two seconds” he said. “And it is the law.”

Seat belts save lives, Cook said. “They can prevent you from being ejected in an accident.”

“Seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to passengers,” he added. “The majority of motorists killed on Alabama’s roadways failed to buckle up.”
The Alabama seat belt law requires that every front seat passenger, regardless of age, be restrained. “Seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to the front seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent.”

Cook has investigated hundreds of traffic crashes involving injuries and fatalities. “Death notification is the most difficult job I’ve done,” he added. “It doesn’t get any easier and its happening more and more often.”

As Cook showed photos taken at crash sites he has investigated, he noted “a lot of folks don’t realize how violent these crashes are, even to the point of pulling clothes off the body.”

About 40 percent of trooper-worked fatalities in Alabama involved alcohol, Cook said, compared to 32 percent nationwide. “That makes me think we’re a bunch of drunks in this state.

“Teens and their parents both need a strong reminder that underage drinking is illegal and can have disastrous effects,” Cook added. “The legal blood alcohol level is 0.08 percent, but many drivers are significantly impaired at 0.05 percent. Your blood alcohol level may not be a true indication of your ability to drive. In fact, you may be closer to impairment by intoxication than a breath, blood or urine test indicates.”

Alabama has some of the toughest DUI laws in the nation, said Cook.
After midnight one out of every 10 drivers may be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. “Your decision to drink and drive is no accident,” he stressed. “It’s a calculated crime that is punishable by law in all 50 states.”

“Driving after drinking is like playing Russian Roulette,” Cook said as he showed photo after photo of fatal crashes in the Wiregrass. “You never know when it will be your turn to be involved in a fatal crash.”