Bakersfield.com

-Courtesy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Department of Transportation.

IMPAIRED DRIVING-MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT ALCOHOL AND DRIVING.

Myths and misconceptions about alcohol and its effects on safe driving are widespread. Knowing the truth could mean the difference between life and death.

Myth:  Alcohol is a stimulant.
Fact:  Alcohol is a depressant. It acts on the central nervous system
like an anesthetic to lower or depress the activity of the brain.

Myth: "Drinking coffee sobers me up."
Fact:  Coffee cannot rid your system of alcohol. 
It just makes you a nervous, wide-awake drunk. Only time reverses the impairment.

Myth: "I always stay away from the hard stuff."
Fact:  Alcohol is alcohol. One 12-ounce glass of beer has as much alcohol
as a 1.5-ounce shot of whiskey or a 5-ounce glass of wine.

Myth: "I am bigger so I can handle my liquor better than other people."
Fact:  Size is only one factor in how much you can drink.
Metabolism, amount of rest and food intake all play a part in how you handle liquor.
Impairment in motor reflexes and judgment can begin with the first drink.

Myth: "Once I roll down my car window, I am okay to drive."
Fact:  No amount of fresh, chilly air can reverse impairment.
You gain nothing by rolling down a window or turning on the air conditioner.

Myth: "I just drive slower after drinking."
Fact:  Many people believe that by driving more slowly,
they can compensate for being impaired.
The truth is, drunk drivers are dangerous at any speed.

Myth: "All I have to do is splash my face with cold water."
Fact:  Cold water or even a cold shower will not sober you up or make you a safer driver.
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How holy a day is it when the days leading up to New Year's Eve
need to be filled with drunken driving warnings from all forms of
news media and from police officials?

Of course, not everyone acts irresponsibly but the fact is for too many it is a time to throw caution to the wind, an excuse for getting intoxicated and then getting behind the wheel in a drunken stupor.

It is a serious matter from all aspects but we should not leave God out of the picture. He does not condemn moderate drinking but drunkenness is a sin that can have devastating results if not controlled.

--1^st Corinthians 6 verses 9 and 10.

Please consider some of the following statistics, the darker side of this 'holy day'.  It is a world-wide problem.

“The afternoon before New Year’s Eve is unusually calm,” says Fernando, a medical doctor in Brazil.  “Then, about 11 o’clock, they start to arrive – a steady stream of patients with stab wounds or gunshot wounds, teenagers injured in automobile accidents, and battered wives. Alcohol is nearly always a factor.”

In the United States during a 12-hour period, one Super Bowl Sunday left in its tracks 105 total traffic fatalities, 62 of those (59.1%) were alcohol-related. Imagine the devastation to those left behind --the orphans, the widows, parents and friends.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the latest, record-breaking alcohol-related traffic fatality numbers —the highest in 10 years at nearly 18,000 and nearly 14,000 killed in drunk driving crashes every year.

“MADD is greatly disappointed that drunk driving fatalities are at a 10-year high. Each and every death and injury from this crime is preventable. MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving supports enforcement as a deterrent to drunk drivers and makes it impossible for a vehicle to be driven by someone who is drunk. 
Support us today, support safer roads tomorrow,” said Glynn Birch, national president.

CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS.

Superstition is really the backbone of the New Year’s celebration.
Most of its customs originate from and are steeped in magic, demonism, witchcraft and irrationality --a clear violation of what is acceptable in God's eyes.  If one is a spiritual person they would want to take into consideration how He feels about such a celebration.

Certain ones in the time of Isaiah were involved in worshiping

‘the god of ‘Good Luck and ‘the god of Destiny.  The worshipers of these deities set a table of food and drink before them – Isaiah 65 verse 11. The Assyrians and Babylonians frequently prepared food and drink for their gods and hoped to be accepted by the “Lord of Luck.”

In his comment on Isaiah 65:11, Jerome wrote that “in all cities,
and especially in Egypt and Alexandria, there was an ancient idolatrous custom, that on the last day of the final month of their year they would spread a table covered with various kinds of foods, and a cup mixed with sweet wine, ensuring good luck for the fertility either of the past or the coming year.’

The new year has not always begun on January 1st.  In Ancient Egypt, thousands of years ago, the year began at the time of the overflowing of the River Nile which occurred about the middle of June.  The early Romans began their year in March, just as the ancient Babylonians had done long before them, but it was Julius Caesar who changed the date to January 1st.

The Ancient Romans named the first month of their year January in honor of Janus.  He was the god of two faces and could look backward and forward. On New Year’s Day the Romans looked back, reviewing the events of the year, and forward to the new year ahead.

New Year’s then, as now, was considered a good time for foretelling the future. In olden days, one popular custom was called ‘”dipping.” With eyes closed, the head of the house would open the Bible and trace his finger along the page and then stop. Whatever passage his finger came to rest upon would indicate good or bad luck for that family.

Probably, the most widespread of all New Year’s superstitions and the one that was taken most seriously concerned the ‘”first-footer.”  That is, the first person to set foot in the house that day would determine the fate to come upon that home.

It was very bad luck for the first to be a woman, or a light-haired man, also gravediggers and persons who were pigeon-toed.  To avoid a catastrophe, a dark-haired man was chosen as a first-footer and his job would be to go from house to house and be the first to enter.

In Northumberland, England, a custom of the Druids was for twenty-four men dressed in old-time costumes to march around town from 11:30 PM to midnight with pans of blazing tar on their heads.

In early England, popular ‘god’ cakes were baked, cut into triangles and filled with mincemeat.

St. Basil’s Day is celebrated in Greece on January 1st in honor of St. Basil, the Bishop of Caesarea in the fourth century.  On that day,

Basil-cakes are baked and then the head of the house makes the sign of the cross as he cuts the cake.  Happy the one who finds the small silver coin hidden within, for he will have good luck.

To the people of the Far East the first day of the New Year is very

important as Japanese bells ring out 108 times as a reminder of the 108 commandments of Buddha.

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. Every Jew is called into account for deeds throughout the year. Those who deserve it have their names written in the Book of Life. Those undeserving are eternally condemned. But for those who are in the middle, they have nine days of grace in which to perform good deeds. This period ends at Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

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The Holy Bible promises a new and better year to come. 
Unlike the worldly new year,it will not be a year of repeated failures and sufferings.  It will truly be a new year --a time of restoration, peace, joy and love and will last forever. The world's hopes are rooted in superstitions and making wishes upon a wishbone. 
While a new year is a good time to reflect and try to correct mistakes from the past year, The real hope rests upon the promises of God, not wishes made upon a lowly chicken bone.

For your encouragement please read Revelation 21 verses 3 and 4; Psalms 37 verses 10 and 11.

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