Red ribbons remind mountain motorists not to drive drunk

Shaunta Grimes

Tuesday, Nov. 23, 1999 | 9:23 a.m.

During the past 12 holiday seasons, nobody has died on Kyle Canyon Road as a result of drunken driving.

Stop DUI, a group that educates the public about the dangers of mixing alcohol and driving, hopes to make that 13.

For the 12th year volunteers from the Nevada Department of Transportation on Monday posted red ribbons on ski poles every mile on both sides of the 22-mile road from U.S. 95 to the end of the highway in Mount Charleston's Kyle Canyon as a holiday message, according to Stop DUI executive director Sandy Heverly.

Heverly said the ribbons, designating the road as Red Ribbon Road, are meant to remind drivers to drive sober or use a designated driver. Kyle Canyon Road was chosen because "that road is hard to negotiate, even if you're sober. That road had an appalling fatality rate 12 years ago," Heverly said.

The Mount Charleston Restaurant and Lounge has also helped to lower the alcohol related fatalities on Kyle Canyon Road by instituting an aggressive designated driver program 12 years ago. The restaurant makes no reservations over the holidays until guests verify they have a designated driver. The driver is given a bottle of warm champagne to enjoy the next day.

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