The Kansas City Royals are joining law enforcement and highway safety officials in an effort to prevent drunken driving this Fourth of July weekend.

In a press conference Monday at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals announced that the organization will help educate fans about the importance of responsible drinking and designating a sober driver.

The team's effort is in conjunction with a national crackdown on impaired drivers, called "You Drink & Drive. You Lose." The program began last Friday and runs through July 13.

More than 40 law enforcement agencies throughout the area have stepped up the use of sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols in an effort to catch people who break the law and drive drunk.

Rodney Lewallen, director of stadium operations, said the Royals have trained concessionaires and stadium and operations staff members how to recognize fans who are impaired and how to handle them.

Those selling alcohol have been told to ask for identification from anyone who appears to be under 35 years old.

"I can tell you that as I get older, it is harder to tell you who is 21, who is 18 and who is 25," Lewallen said. "It just looks different than when I was 21."

The Royals will also play public service announcements during the games about the importance of drinking responsibly. The announcements, sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, are aimed at males 21 to 34. The safety administration said that group is at the highest risk of driving drunk.

"Impaired driving is one of the most frequently committed crimes in the United States, and it is a violent crime," said Romell Cooks, regional administrator with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In 2002, drunken drivers killed 17,970 persons nationwide, up from 17,448 persons the previous year. Cooks said the problem is getting worse, despite gains that were made in the 1980s and early 1990s in reducing the number of deaths caused by impaired drivers.

"Many people believe that impaired driving is no longer a concern," Cooks said. "They mistakenly think that the problem has been solved years ago."

Cooks said strict and steady enforcement of drunken-driving laws is the most effective way to lower the number of deaths caused by impaired drivers.

Because of that, Cooks said, tens of thousands of officers from law enforcement agencies in all 50 states will be out in force conducting sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols to arrest drunken drivers. She said efforts will then be made to prosecute "these criminals" to the fullest extent of the law.

The key message of the campaign is "if you drink and you drive in this city, you lose," Cooks said.

SOURCE: The Kansas City Star
Robert A. Cronkleton, (816) 234-5994; bcronkleton@kcstar.com