As New Year's Eve approaches each December, you are likely to see a don't-drink-and-drive editorial on this page. This year is no different - nor should it be. Alcohol-related crashes continue to exact an awful toll of tragedy and heartbreak from innocent families in Greater Cincinnati and throughout America.

In 2002, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 17,419 people were killed in U.S. alcohol-related crashes, a figure that represents 41 percent of all highway fatalities. Ohio suffered 482 alcohol-related highway fatalities (out of 1,417 total road deaths) that year, notes the Ohio Department of Public Safety, with 26 alcohol-related deaths in Hamilton County.

Terrible as these numbers are, they are far lower than they were 20 years ago, thanks in large part to awareness and social pressure brought to bear by groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). That, in turn, has led states to craft tougher DUI laws, and has encouraged law enforcement agencies to become more aggressive in enforcing those laws.

A sobriety checkpoint run by the Hamilton County DUI Task Force in Sharonville over the weekend reinforced the message. So will other enhanced enforcement efforts in our area over the next few days, the Enquirer's Janice Morse reports in today's Local News section.

Also, the new year will bring new wrinkles in Ohio law to make matters even tougher for drunk drivers. As today's "Your voice" column by Blue Ash prosecutor David P. Fornshell notes (see below), on Jan. 1 it will be possible to be charged for just sitting behind the wheel of a parked vehicle while impaired, or for riding a non-motor vehicle such as a bicycle while impaired. Offenders will be required to place special "scarlet letter" license plates on their vehicles to caution other motorists.

But even more is needed to shake us from our complacency, not just about drunk driving, but about traffic safety in general. More than twice as many Americans die in highway crashes than are murdered each year - but our outrage is muted over highway carnage, as though it's an acceptable or inevitable toll.

It's not. And the single best way to ratchet down that number is to keep tightening the screws on alcohol-impaired driving. The message by now ought to be clear to anyone who even considers getting behind the wheel after drinking:

Don't. Just don't.

Let's work for a day when there will be no need to write or read editorials such as this one.

Take a cab - please

The Southwestern Ohio Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and AAA are offering free cab rides to impaired drivers anywhere within the Interstate 275 loop from 6 p.m. Wednesday through midnight Thursday; call (513) 768-FREE.