Hofstra conference takes on dangerous driving

For decades, public health officials have hammered home a message –– smoking kills. They have done so in splashy advertising campaigns and in the halls of government. Any number of laws and ordinances prohibiting smoking in public venues have been passed as a result. These efforts, officials say, have paid dividends.

Now officials are driving home a new message –– dangerous driving can kill –– not only you, the driver, but also others who share the road with you. That message was telegraphed loud and clear during a Long Island Youth Safety Coalition conference at Hofstra University on Dec. 6 –– “Drunk, Drugged, Drowsy and Distracted: Using School and Community to Create Comprehensive Solutions to Dangerous Driving.”

District Attorney Kathleen Rice opened up the day, addressing the crowd of about 40 attendees in the morning. “All of us have the same goal,” she said. “It’s keeping our kids safe.”

The conference was part of the Long Island Youth Safety Coalition, which Rice created. This was the sixth conference the coalition has hosted, each dealing with a different issue. This was the first conference dedicated solely to traffic safety.

Maureen McCormick, chief of vehicular crimes for the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, who also served as a keynote speaker at the Hofstra conference, said that speeding is the number-one killer of teenage drivers, followed closely by drunken driving and driving while texting.

McCormick said there were more than 44,000 vehicle crashes in Nassau in 2010, noting that Long Island is a car community in which speed is valued. “We have to change the culture of suburban Long Island,” she said.

She added that street pickup drag races are common among teenagers. “It’s everywhere,” she said. “There is no racial, economic or gender divide.”