UTAH, OREGON PRAISED FOR LAWS AGAINST DRUNKEN DRIVING

      Guess which state others should copy on anti-drunken driving laws, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the U.S. surgeon general, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and Transportation Secretary Andrew Card?

      Utah.Oregon, too. They are the only states that have adopted three laws that the groups said are needed to effectively combat drunken driving. The laws are:

      - Allowing police to seize the license of people found driving while intoxicated (which 33 states do).

      - Having "zero tolerance" for youths under 21 found drinking and driving. Since underage drinking is illegal in all states, the groups want driving with any amount of alcohol in the blood - no matter how little - to be illegal. Only five states have zero tolerance, and another nine have low tolerance levels.

      - Lowering the blood alcohol level where someone is presumed to be drunk from .10 to .08. Only five states have done that.

      "We know these laws are working in states like California (which adopted two of the three laws), Oregon and Utah, so we'll fight to get them implemented in every state," Milo Kirk, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said at a news conference Thursday.

      To dramatize why such laws are needed, the groups unveiled 1,500 red ribbons tied together with names of people who were killed by drunken drivers in holiday accidents, often including pictures, obituaries or stories about the accident.

      "Imagine how many fewer ribbons would fill this hall today had more friends taken a stand and not let their friends drive under the influence of alcohol or other drugs," Kirk said - adding that 1,600 died in holiday alcohol-related wrecks last year alone.

      Surgeon General Antonia No-vel-lo said, "Every three hours a child dies in an alcohol-related accident. That is almost nine teens a day - the exact equivalent of a baseball team. That is 3,500 kids a year, the equivalent of the student bodies of three average high schools."

      She added, "Young people must realize that impairment begins with the first drink, not only with heavy drinking."