Television is so popular that over 128 million sets are now being used in 98 percent of American households.  According to the A.C. Nielsen Company, which takes television surveys, each week the small screen holds the attention of children under five for an average of 23.5 hours and adults for an average of 44 hours.  Indeed, the typical viewer spends more time in front of the television set than he or she spends on any other activity except sleep. But far from being the "idiot box" that it is often called, television offers viewers many benefits.  Television can be educational, as well as entertaining.

Fully half the fatal automobile accidents in Maryland involve a drunk driver, according to the State Division of Motor Vehicles.  We should support concerned citizens who are now demanding that three strict laws be passed to alleviate this problem.

A study at the University of North Carolina indicates that persons riding in a passenger van are twice as likely as other riders to suffer serious or fatal injuries.  Recently I learned from personal experience that the shape of a vehicle is a major factor in how safely it handles.