A couple of weeks ago, I noted the Rhode Island State Police's video alerting us this holiday season that while drunk drivers might have all sorts of excuses for being on the road, the RISP would have only one response: "There is no excuse for drunk driving."

A good, sensible slogan for a good, sensible idea.

But if you are resistant, or anyone you know is resistant, to good, sensible ideas - and God knows, I was when I was a teenager - maybe referring them to the story of Jaqueline Saburido might wake them up.

Saburido was a pretty 20-year old Venezuelan who was studying English in Texas in 1999 when she was involved in a horrifying accident.

She was traveling with friends on a Sunday morning in September when high school student Reggie Stephey, who had been drinking, smashed his vehicle into their car. Two of her friends died and by the time she was extricated, she had second- and third-degree burns over 60 percent of her body.

Her injuries included losing her fingers, her ears, her nose, the eyelids of her left eye, much of her sight and her hair.

Despite her dreadful injuries, Saburido has dedicated her life to raising awareness to the dangers of drunk driving. He also met and forgave Stephey, who served seven years in jail.

She has appeared on posters warning against drunk driving and is perhaps best known for a video which shows her holding up a photo of herself before the accident. She then lowers it to reveal her gravely disfigured face.

If there is a reckless driver in your family, or if you want to remind yourself to drive carefully, Google Jacqueline Saburido's name and you will find a number of Web sites dedicated to her accident and her valiant battle against drunk driving.

The sight of her face is certainly sobering in a season when there is a lot of drinking. It is possible to drink and drive, but it requires moderation and self control.

If those don't work, maybe the sight of potential consequences might.

Peter C.T. Elsworth