Speaker 1: You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand, I AM.
Speaker 2: Six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Tiffany Hobbs
Speaker 2: here with you. It's Saturdays with Tiffany, and we're here
Speaker 2: until seven o'clock and then Michael Monks comes aboard. At
Speaker 2: six thirty. I invite you to make sure you are listening.
Speaker 2: We will be talking to Marcus Coval. He is that
Speaker 2: marathon runner, mma fighter, all things, but most proud to
Speaker 2: be a dad who was on a courageous mission to
Speaker 2: bring awareness about what happened to his son Liam almost
Speaker 2: one decade ago, and in the pursuit of justice for
Speaker 2: his son, Liam is running the La Marathon tomorrow barefoot
Speaker 2: and hopes to be able to raise awareness about driving
Speaker 2: while drunk and the blood alcohol content level which Liam's foundation,
Speaker 2: Liam's Life Foundation is working to lower to point zero
Speaker 2: zero two. So we have Marcus on to talk about
Speaker 2: all of that at six thirty. Now let's get into
Speaker 2: our Deeper Dives segment where we take a deeper look,
Speaker 2: more of a look at an issue that is affecting
Speaker 2: southern California. And this segment we're going to ask the question,
Speaker 2: how safe are your neighborhood streets. Now, statistics show that
Speaker 2: crime around Los Angeles as a county is in fact
Speaker 2: down major crime. When we're out there, the optics matter,
Speaker 2: so you may not feel like crime is in fact down,
Speaker 2: And there are many crimes that are up, they have increased.
Speaker 2: One of the crimes that's down is luckily murder. Homicide
Speaker 2: is down, but something that has been rising steadily is
Speaker 2: vehicular homicide. And car crashes overall, be them severe or minor,
Speaker 2: due to the conditions on on Los Angeles streets. And
Speaker 2: I'm not talking about just potholes or dimly lit intersections
Speaker 2: because the copper is gone and there are no street lights.
Speaker 2: While those are all factors, this has to do more
Speaker 2: with driver error, impairment, speeding, and other factors.
Speaker 3: So let's get into it.
Speaker 2: When you think about driving on LA streets, you might,
Speaker 2: like me, immediately start to tense up a bit. If
Speaker 2: you've driven, which most of us do because this is
Speaker 2: a commuter city, then you've experienced traffic, You've experienced aggressive
Speaker 2: driving and drivers. You may have been flipped the bird
Speaker 2: or done the bird flipping because someone cut you off
Speaker 2: or didn't thank you for letting them merge whatever the case,
Speaker 2: driving in Los Angeles is a contact sport, and that's
Speaker 2: not a sport that we should be contacting each other,
Speaker 2: especially when we're dealing with our vehicles. The last thing
Speaker 2: you want to do is have an accident. However, accidents
Speaker 2: are increasing, and everywhere you look there are billboards for
Speaker 2: accident attorneys personal injury traffic accidents. They're on the back
Speaker 2: of buses, they're on the bus benches, or on the billboards.
Speaker 2: When you're driving, they are literally everywhere. Because personal injury
Speaker 2: due to vehicular crashes again has increased exponentially, and again,
Speaker 2: many residents around LA agree that driving has become increasingly
Speaker 2: more dangerous. Many can look back to the early days
Speaker 2: of the pandemic, of which we are now five years
Speaker 2: practically from the start to the day of the COVID
Speaker 2: nineteen pandemic. During the lockdown period, of course, the streets
Speaker 2: were empty.
Speaker 3: We loved it.
Speaker 2: We were driving if you were driving anywhere within that
Speaker 2: twenty minute kind of stereotype about Los Angeles very antiquated
Speaker 2: at this that you can get anywhere around LA in
Speaker 2: twenty minutes.
Speaker 3: Long gone or those days.
Speaker 2: But during the pandemic there was a resurgence of that
Speaker 2: you could get anywhere, and you could get anywhere quickly
Speaker 2: and relatively safely because the streets were empty. But as
Speaker 2: things opened back up and we returned to normal in
Speaker 2: the months after March when the pandemic first began, of course,
Speaker 2: traffic was one of the most noticeable increases, one of
Speaker 2: the most noticeable returns to normalcy. La is synonymous with traffic,
Speaker 2: and now five years later, the statistics for collisions across
Speaker 2: the board, in severity, have gone up. In twenty twenty four,
Speaker 2: data was collected for certain areas. There are certain areas
Speaker 2: around La County that have it really, really bad. They
Speaker 2: are considered to be the worst areas for traffic collisions.
Speaker 2: And let me tell you a bit about those areas. Now,
Speaker 2: pay attention to this because it's likely that you drive
Speaker 2: on these roads. If you come to the intersection of
Speaker 2: Devonshire and Resita out there in Northridge that has been
Speaker 2: flagged as one of the most dangerous intersections in California,
Speaker 2: Devonshire and Resita. If you're still out there in the
Speaker 2: San Fernando Valley and you find yourself at Balboa and Nordoff,
Speaker 2: you are at yet another intersection that tops the lists
Speaker 2: due to its wild traffic patterns and frequent congestion. If
Speaker 2: you go to Supovida and Sherman Way, yet another valley intersection,
Speaker 2: this one sees a lot of commuter traffic. It's a thoroughfare,
Speaker 2: and accidents usually occur due to speeding and improper lane changes.
Speaker 2: People are trying to get where they want to go.
Speaker 2: They're not necessarily doing it safely. If you find yourself
Speaker 2: on freeways, which we all do, I'll be hopping on
Speaker 2: the one on one shortly to get back to my area.
Speaker 2: If you're on the four or five, you are experiencing
Speaker 2: the least safe interstate in all of California, arguably in
Speaker 2: all of the United States, due to its traffic jams
Speaker 2: and accident rates, especially during those peak hours of morning
Speaker 2: commutes and your afterwork rush, and those times seem to
Speaker 2: have blurred even more so. At first we could really
Speaker 2: define what those periods were, your morning commute and traffic,
Speaker 2: and your evening commute. But now it seems that traffic
Speaker 2: is all day and sometimes all night long. If you
Speaker 2: find yourself on the five and you are near San Diego,
Speaker 2: the five has been ranked as one of the deadliest
Speaker 2: freeways in all of California, and it has seen its
Speaker 2: own spike in accidents since the pandemic. If you get
Speaker 2: on the one on one like I am, and you're
Speaker 2: going through downtown LA, which I fortunately will not be
Speaker 2: going through Downtown La, that freeway, the one on one
Speaker 2: near downtown the five and the ten interchange, is considered
Speaker 2: to be one of the worst freeways for averaging averages
Speaker 2: for crashes per mile. It's considered a high risk freeway.
Speaker 2: So what factors are contributing to these high accident rates? Again,
Speaker 2: you can point to poor lighting in certain areas, perhaps
Speaker 2: residential areas. Sure, you can point to potholes after rain, absolutely,
Speaker 2: But the main issues are heavy traffic volume, distract it driving, Hello,
Speaker 2: distract it driving.
Speaker 3: You look over and you're in traffic.
Speaker 2: Everyone's on their cell phone, everyone's manipulating their screen. There speeding,
Speaker 2: everyone thinks they're in the new Vin Diesel movie. We're
Speaker 2: all fast and furious, trying to get where we gotta
Speaker 2: go right. Driving under the influence, and this is a
Speaker 2: touchy topic, and we'll be getting into this more with
Speaker 2: our interview with Marcus Coval. But driving under the influence,
Speaker 2: whether it is alcohol or whether it's something else, some
Speaker 2: other substance. We see lots of young people using alternative substances.
Speaker 2: Those issues impair judgment and motor skills like crazy, and
Speaker 2: they are very prevalent on our Southern California streets. And
Speaker 2: then again lastly, you can point to regular road conditions
Speaker 2: that can lead to accidents, inadequate signage again, poor condition
Speaker 2: for the roads.
Speaker 3: But overall, there's.
Speaker 2: Been a twenty nine percent increase in traffic accidents since
Speaker 2: the pandemic in the last five years, compared to a
Speaker 2: twelve percent increase nationwide. So we've more than doubled the
Speaker 2: national average for increases in traffic accidents in Los Angeles.
Speaker 3: And there are dangerous times to drive.
Speaker 2: There are situations that are in environments that are more
Speaker 2: accident prone than others. I'll tell you when the worst
Speaker 2: times to drive are, as well as other factors that
Speaker 2: are contributing to our dangerous streets, including street takeovers and
Speaker 2: other issues that are plaguing Los Angeles. And some of
Speaker 2: the ways in which our city leadership is aiming to
Speaker 2: combat what's going on to make our roads safer. We'll
Speaker 2: talk about that on the other side of the break.
Speaker 2: And then at six point thirty. We have Marcus Colval
Speaker 2: coming on, so stay tuned for that.
Speaker 1: You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand if
Speaker 1: I AM.
Speaker 2: Six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Tiffany Hobbs
Speaker 2: here with you, and we're continuing our Deeper Dives segment
Speaker 2: where we take a closer look at an issue that
Speaker 2: directly impacting Southern California, California at large, even and this
Speaker 2: one specifically deals with the question of why are our
Speaker 2: LA streets so unsafe for drivers? And you might be
Speaker 2: yelling that answer into your radio, and I understand you.
Speaker 3: I hear you. Stop yelling at me. I hear you.
Speaker 3: I know why they're unsafe. You know why they're unsafe.
Speaker 2: We're all on there together, and we see day in
Speaker 2: and day out causation.
Speaker 3: We see day in and day.
Speaker 2: Out, poor drivers, bad habits, poor roads, and the like.
Speaker 2: So we can all list many of the ways in
Speaker 2: which these issues arise. But specifically, when we think about
Speaker 2: LA drivers and driving on our LA streets, a lot
Speaker 2: of the vehicular issues, a lot of the accidents are
Speaker 2: due to driver error, and some any of those errors
Speaker 2: can occur during very specific times. I was telling you
Speaker 2: where a lot of these accidents take place. Newsflash, Valley people,
Speaker 2: You guys have quite a few issues, a lot of
Speaker 2: issues at your intersections, your major thoroughfares. But if we
Speaker 2: look at the times in which accidents are likely to occur,
Speaker 2: then maybe we can kind of avoid some of the
Speaker 2: patterns that we might find ourselves in so that we
Speaker 2: don't fall victim to these vehicular errors. So what are
Speaker 2: some of the more dangerous times to drive in and
Speaker 2: around Los Angeles Between seven and ten am? And you
Speaker 2: guessed it, four and seven p m. Seven to ten
Speaker 2: am and four to seven pm seven to ten am.
Speaker 3: That's morning rush hour.
Speaker 2: Everyone's trying to get to work, they're trying to get
Speaker 2: to school, or we're trying to get home from a
Speaker 2: late night.
Speaker 3: Whatever it might be.
Speaker 2: Morning rush at hour deals with people who are distracted,
Speaker 2: They're moving quickly, they maybe don't maintain a safe following distance,
Speaker 2: They're tired, they might be a bit agitated. Who knows.
Speaker 2: Many people aren't mourning people. You might not be. Maybe
Speaker 2: you are, but driving in the morning trying to get somewhere,
Speaker 2: especially if you're running late or something at home has
Speaker 2: stressed you out already. Can become a hazardous event. Weekend nights.
Speaker 2: That's probably not news to anyone. Weekend nights. Tonight's today's Saturday,
Speaker 2: So tonight's a weekend, Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night.
Speaker 2: Those nights are very risky. You have impaired drivers, whether
Speaker 2: they're drinking, whether they are doing something else, they're impaired.
Speaker 2: Perhaps you have tourists who are out who are trying
Speaker 2: to get home to their hotels and they're unfamiliar with
Speaker 2: the routes. You might see that. I see that quite
Speaker 2: a bit here near the studio. People are coming and
Speaker 2: going from Universal Studios. You can tell that it's a
Speaker 2: visiting family. They're in a rental car and they don't
Speaker 2: know how to merge off the one oh one, and
Speaker 2: they almost take everyone out with them because they're just
Speaker 2: trying to get over on Barrom. Well, that's a big issue,
Speaker 2: and please keep visiting, but be careful. Be careful, of course.
Speaker 2: And then you have increased pedestrian activity in entertainment districts.
Speaker 2: So if you are near Santa Monica Promenade, you have
Speaker 2: all those people out there walking. If you are near
Speaker 2: Third Street Promenade, all those people are out there walking
Speaker 2: if you are near Santa Monica Pier, you have all
Speaker 2: those people up and down PCCh and Ocean who are
Speaker 2: just you know, trying to get around and figure out
Speaker 2: their way, but they can become a hazard. And then
Speaker 2: you have special events and holidays. Well, we have a
Speaker 2: special event coming up. Monday is Saint Patrick's Day, and
Speaker 2: Saint Patrick's Day is typically associated with what drinking. It's
Speaker 2: synonymous with being a drinking holiday. And with all of
Speaker 2: that drinking that's occurring throughout the day and evening, not
Speaker 2: everyone is getting back into their car. Sober people are driving,
Speaker 2: drunk people are driving tipsy. They think they got it,
Speaker 2: but they really don't. Uber and Lyft typically offer many specials,
Speaker 2: many freebies on these special event days and holidays like
Speaker 2: Saint Patrick's Day to try and thwart some of that
Speaker 2: dui propensity, but not everyone takes it. And if you're
Speaker 2: in an Uber or a Lyft or a way Mo
Speaker 2: for that matter, and you get smacked by somebody who's drunk,
Speaker 2: you're not in good shape either way. So the best
Speaker 2: rule of thumb is, of course, not to go out
Speaker 2: and drink.
Speaker 3: Stay at home. Stay at home and drink.
Speaker 2: If you're going to find yourself driving and then and
Speaker 2: then there are even more times where issues occur, but
Speaker 2: the main times again seven to ten am, four to
Speaker 2: seven pm, weekend nights, and these special event days like
Speaker 2: Saint Patrick's Day, which is just around the corner. If
Speaker 2: you find yourself out on the roads tonight tomorrow, be
Speaker 2: very vigilant because you are going to be driving amongst
Speaker 2: people who are celebrating, who might be a bit buzz
Speaker 2: might be a bit tipsy, whatever it is. And then
Speaker 2: you add this next factor in and it just takes
Speaker 2: a whole other turn the safety on La streets. That
Speaker 2: factor is the street takeover. You know what a street
Speaker 2: takeover is is when all those cars show up at
Speaker 2: one place and they block an intersection and you find
Speaker 2: cars doing tricks donuts, spinning around in circles in the
Speaker 2: middle of the intersection while others stand by and watch
Speaker 2: or crowd the intersection themselves, putting themselves at arm's way.
Speaker 2: But you are now beholden to this spectacle that you
Speaker 2: did not sign up for, and until they leave, you
Speaker 2: are effectively stuck.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 2: Street takeovers are a huge issue in the city of
Speaker 2: Los Angeles, and they have increased sixty four percent since
Speaker 2: October sixty four percent. There are hundreds of street takeovers
Speaker 2: happening all around Los Angeles, and because they are such
Speaker 2: an issue, because they have become such an added hazard,
Speaker 2: there are some ways in which the city is hoping
Speaker 2: to respond. One such way is offering youth education and prevention.
Speaker 2: They're going into the schools and they're talking to students
Speaker 2: and they're saying, hey, don't involve yourselves in this activity.
Speaker 2: It's an issue. I don't know how successful that is.
Speaker 2: You ever talk to teenagers. You probably are a little
Speaker 2: cynical yourself, but it is a start. Another thing that's
Speaker 2: happening is that law enforcement is looking to enhance their
Speaker 2: coordination between agencies and they want to increase penalties for
Speaker 2: organizers and spectators and issue even more tickets. They're also
Speaker 2: looking into city leadership identifying potentially designated spaces for legal
Speaker 2: street racing events. And then lastly, there's a new regional
Speaker 2: Task Force on street takeovers that will address what's going on.
Speaker 2: They're proposing ordinances to increase fines, expand penalties, and target
Speaker 2: spectators and organizers, amongst other things. So there are ways
Speaker 2: in which our city is looking to make us safer
Speaker 2: but so far not so good. Something that is so
Speaker 2: very good is this upcoming conversation that we are going
Speaker 2: to have with Marcus Coval. He is a pro MMA fighter,
Speaker 2: self defense trainer, activists, and dedicated dad. He's running in
Speaker 2: the LA Marathon tomorrow in honor of his son, Liam,
Speaker 2: who was unfortunately killed.
Speaker 3: By a drunk driver.
Speaker 2: And we will hear from Marcus Cobal about Liam's life, foundation,
Speaker 2: his mission, and what he hopes to come out of
Speaker 2: this marathon and all of the publicity for this run
Speaker 2: when we come back. I am six forty live everywhere
Speaker 2: on the iHeartRadio app. Tiffany Hobbs here with you.
Speaker 1: You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2: Kf I AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2: It's Saturdays with Tiffany and I am very, very, very
Speaker 2: proud and inspired to talk to our next guest. As
Speaker 2: thousands of runners prepare for Tomorrow's LA Marathon, there is
Speaker 2: one runner in particular who is participating barefoot to push
Speaker 2: for stricter drunk driving laws. Professional MMA fighter, self defense
Speaker 2: expert and activists, Marcus Coval, will run the LA Marathon
Speaker 2: again barefoot less than two years after undergoing a hip replacement.
Speaker 2: There are superheroes amongst us.
Speaker 3: Everyone.
Speaker 2: His mission to raise awareness and funds to lower the
Speaker 2: legal blood alcohol content limit to point zero five in California,
Speaker 2: a change that research shows could save over two thousand
Speaker 2: lives per year. In the United States, currently, our blood
Speaker 2: alcohol content level is point zero eight, so lowering it
Speaker 2: again would have dramatic dramatic results. Coval, a dedicated advocate
Speaker 2: against drunk driving. Unfortunately and very sadly lost his fifteen
Speaker 2: monthote's son, Liam in twenty sixteen when a repeat offender
Speaker 2: hear me again, a repeat offender ran a red light
Speaker 2: and struck Liam's stroller. Since then, Coval has committed his
Speaker 2: life to fighting for stronger drunk driving laws through the
Speaker 2: Liam's Life Foundation, an organization he founded in his son's memory.
Speaker 2: Marcus Coval is running the twenty six point two miles
Speaker 2: Barefoot Why as a testament to resilience, perseverance, and the
Speaker 2: power of pushing through pain for a greater purpose. His
Speaker 2: journey mirrors the physical and emotional trials he has endured
Speaker 2: since Liam's passing. His goal is to get Liam's Law,
Speaker 2: a bill to lower that BAC limit two point zero
Speaker 2: five reintroduced in California, a measure supported by the National
Speaker 2: Academies of Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering. There are similar laws
Speaker 2: across the world in Europe and Australia and even stateside
Speaker 2: in Utah, and that those laws have led to dramatic
Speaker 2: increases in alcohol related fatalities. Liam's Life Foundation is calling
Speaker 2: on supporters to donate, spread awareness, and demand legislative change.
Speaker 2: Marcus Coval believes that with enough public support, California can
Speaker 2: become the next state and should become the next state
Speaker 2: to lead the life saving drunk driving prevention crusade. I
Speaker 2: would say this is a crusade in every way. Marcus Coval,
Speaker 2: thank you so much for your time and for being
Speaker 2: with us here at KFI.
Speaker 4: Thank you so much for having me on. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3: No, thank you again.
Speaker 2: I learned about you through social media as I have
Speaker 2: shared that we would be having this conversation, and others
Speaker 2: have sent me many posts going back to twenty sixteen
Speaker 2: because they recognized your story. After I shared that we
Speaker 2: would be talking on Instagram, people remembered what happened. It
Speaker 2: really made and left an impact on so many people,
Speaker 2: and that nine years later, we are here one day,
Speaker 2: just hours before the start of the LA Marathon, which
Speaker 2: is yet another goal that you've set for yourself. I
Speaker 2: have a question for you, of everything that you do
Speaker 2: mma fighting your self defense classes. I was looking at
Speaker 2: your social media. You're teaching self defense to so many people.
Speaker 2: I plan hopefully to take a class from you of Yes,
Speaker 2: of everything that you do and have done, what is
Speaker 2: your most rewarding job.
Speaker 4: That's a great question that I've never been asted for.
Speaker 4: It's hard to pick one because I know that they
Speaker 4: are all important. Teaching people to be empowered, to be
Speaker 4: able to stand up not just for themselves, but for others.
Speaker 4: From you know, children who have been believed in knowing
Speaker 4: that the building the confidence to stand up for oneself
Speaker 4: would change the trajectory of their lives, to law enforcement
Speaker 4: offices and even military that work with you know able
Speaker 4: to go home to their families because of the training
Speaker 4: that they've received. So that's the one side on the
Speaker 4: self defense side. But self defense starts with awareness and
Speaker 4: nothing is more important to me today than saving lives
Speaker 4: in Lims in Liam's honors.
Speaker 2: I think that if we were to ask people closest
Speaker 2: to you, especially your family. They would cite that your fatherhood,
Speaker 2: being a father is most likely the most rewarding job
Speaker 2: that they have experienced because your crusade, your mission stems
Speaker 2: from your love of family and speaking and in speaking
Speaker 2: about family, can you take some time tell us about Liam,
Speaker 2: your beautiful boy.
Speaker 4: You know, Liam was fifteen months when we lost him,
Speaker 4: and you're right, you know, I've done a lot and nothing,
Speaker 4: nothing compares to becoming a father. It changed me as
Speaker 4: a as a man and my values and you know,
Speaker 4: wanting to make the world a better place for him,
Speaker 4: and you know, being someone in the industry that I
Speaker 4: am in. If someone would have told me that as
Speaker 4: seventy two year old woman was going I take my
Speaker 4: son's life, I would never leave them. And that's what happened.
Speaker 4: And you know, I'm from Sweden originally and we have
Speaker 4: a point zero too vac over there. I wasn't aware
Speaker 4: of big of a problem of drunk driving is in
Speaker 4: the United States until this, so.
Speaker 3: You know, it's a massive problem.
Speaker 2: It's a massive problem that I think is wept under
Speaker 2: the rug way too often.
Speaker 4: It is, it is, and I I've learned that since.
Speaker 4: But you know, I I it's hard to to to
Speaker 4: understand for anyone who's a parent, when you know, when
Speaker 4: what's more important in life in itself is uh is
Speaker 4: taken from you? How do you find a way back?
Speaker 4: And how can you how can you take that love
Speaker 4: that you have and and make something beautiful out of it?
Speaker 4: When when when this comes with the most I can't
Speaker 4: think of when it worse pain and I've I've endured
Speaker 4: a lot of pain as a professional fighter, and none
Speaker 4: to lose my son son? Did I learn what real
Speaker 4: pain is? And it's not physical pain, mental pain, emotional pain?
Speaker 2: Marcus, I think what you said there, I know what
Speaker 2: you said there is extremely profound. How do you find
Speaker 2: a way back from tragedy, from some extenuating circumstance that
Speaker 2: could have halted everything and instead you found momentum, You
Speaker 2: found a purpose And I would like to talk about
Speaker 2: that purpose and Liam's Life Foundation if we can, if
Speaker 2: you stay with us for one more segment on the
Speaker 2: other side of the break, as well as what Liam's
Speaker 2: Life Foundation is striving to do through you tomorrow running
Speaker 2: in this marathon barefoot, and what you hope to gain
Speaker 2: from all of the exposure, the donations and the spotlight
Speaker 2: that is now on this cause. Can we continue after
Speaker 2: the break? Absolutely, we are talking with Marcus Coval. He's
Speaker 2: a professional MMA fighter, a self defense trainer and activist,
Speaker 2: a father, and he started a foundation in his son
Speaker 2: Liam's honor after Liam was killed by a drunk driver
Speaker 2: in twenty sixteen. The crusade that Marcus Coval is on
Speaker 2: is nothing short of inspiring. It is it goes beyond
Speaker 2: the pale. It defies words. And will continue talking to
Speaker 2: Marcus Coval about Liam's live foundation on the other side
Speaker 2: when we come back. KFI AM six forty Live everywhere
Speaker 2: on the iHeartRadio app. Tiffany Hobbs here with you. Until
Speaker 2: seven you're.
Speaker 1: Listening to KFI AM six forty on demand kf I.
Speaker 2: AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app Tifnany
Speaker 2: Hobbs here with you for one final segment. Michael Monks
Speaker 2: is coming up at seven pm, so stay tuned for that.
Speaker 2: And if you've missed any part of tonight's show, please
Speaker 2: check it out at KFIAM six forty dot com. Go
Speaker 2: to the special features area of the website and this show,
Speaker 2: Michael Monks Show, and other shows will be listed right
Speaker 2: there and you'll be able to click on it and
Speaker 2: hear it in purpose. Hopefully, hopefully we'll live there forever.
Speaker 2: We are having just a very moving, a very compassionate,
Speaker 2: and very honest conversation with activist, pro mma fighter, self
Speaker 2: defense trainer and one hell of a father Marcus Coval
Speaker 2: about his son Liam, the Liams Life Foundation, and it's
Speaker 2: worked to lower the blood alcohol content level in California
Speaker 2: two point zero five and the idea that you are
Speaker 2: able to find your way back. That's what Marcus said
Speaker 2: to us in the last segment, how he found his
Speaker 2: way back after what happened to his son in twenty
Speaker 2: and sixteen. What happened to Liam, and Liam is so
Speaker 2: much more than what happened to him, and out of
Speaker 2: that immen's tragedy, unthinkable tragedy, the Liam's Life Foundation was started.
Speaker 2: And through the Liam's Life Foundation, your goal is to
Speaker 2: get Liam's Law passed. Can you tell us a bit
Speaker 2: about what that law is and any kind of pushback
Speaker 2: that you might be having, What how?
Speaker 3: What can we do?
Speaker 4: That's a great question. The Liam's Law is to lower
Speaker 4: the legal BAC from point oh eight to point oh five,
Speaker 4: something that's been done in more than one hundred countries already,
Speaker 4: so we already have the statistics. We know how many
Speaker 4: lives that that's going to save. In the United States,
Speaker 4: the loses over ten thousand lives a year. That's the
Speaker 4: equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing every single week. And
Speaker 4: there's few law introductions that come with so much statistics,
Speaker 4: that come with so much silence. And not only that,
Speaker 4: there's very few laws that can be introduced that both
Speaker 4: save lives and save money. Because the American TAXPA is
Speaker 4: one hundred and twenty billion dollars a year in drunk
Speaker 4: I've been related costs, so we know that it will
Speaker 4: lower the amount of fatalities by at least twenty percent,
Speaker 4: which in the United States would be on the two
Speaker 4: thousand lives a year.
Speaker 2: Wow, those statistics are staggering. You know, they really push
Speaker 2: you back when you hear again just how prevalent drunk
Speaker 2: driving is and what can be done and how many
Speaker 2: people can avoid such a conclusion if only legislation would
Speaker 2: be responsive, and Liam Law is hoping to meet that moment.
Speaker 2: Liam's Law, I really thank you for really holding the
Speaker 2: line in this way and pushing through these propositions so
Speaker 2: that you can help people again when you could have
Speaker 2: just really sat back and done far less. You are
Speaker 2: dedicating your life to helping others and to saving the
Speaker 2: lives of others. But I do have a question for you, Marcus,
Speaker 2: and humor me. I see that you live in La, right, yes,
Speaker 2: so you know how terrible our La streets are. They
Speaker 2: are filthy, and you are running barefoot. How does one
Speaker 2: train to run barefoot on these La streets?
Speaker 4: You know, I've had people reach out to say, oh,
Speaker 4: you know, concern with stepping on syringes on you know,
Speaker 4: stepped on gloss And I said, no, no, really, I
Speaker 4: was running with someone and then I stepped on glass.
Speaker 4: And it's hard to get a piece of glass out
Speaker 4: of the I said, once it's in there. But you
Speaker 4: have to watch where you step. It's the hardest part
Speaker 4: for me. And I've never gone more than I did
Speaker 4: twenty miles in a trail, but on asphalts, I've only
Speaker 4: gone fifteen miles and you gotta watch your step. And
Speaker 4: the hardest thing tomorrow is going to be the soul
Speaker 4: of the foots. And you know it'll probably be every
Speaker 4: time I ran bare for this God blisters. And part
Speaker 4: of this is to show the opposition because yes there
Speaker 4: is a position what I'm willing to do, and also
Speaker 4: to show people that had a hypoplacement. A lot of
Speaker 4: times people give up you know, mobility and fitness and
Speaker 4: health because they think we can't come back from it.
Speaker 4: So it's to show both for opposition, for others that
Speaker 4: I've gone through similar surgeries as well as for myself
Speaker 4: just to push through and to keep to show to
Speaker 4: myself as well, I'm what I am willing to do.
Speaker 4: This is not something that I'm saying might happen. This
Speaker 4: will happen. Points zero five will be their federal legal
Speaker 4: BSc at some point, and I will not until we
Speaker 4: get there.
Speaker 3: Well, I am proud of you in advance.
Speaker 2: I know we've never met, but just talking to your
Speaker 2: your heart really really comes out and comes through your
Speaker 2: sincerity and again your dedication to your family and specifically
Speaker 2: to Liam, and I think that you are an amazing
Speaker 2: part of his legacy and why his legacy will continue
Speaker 2: to live on and people will know who Liam Corval
Speaker 2: is forever because of you. How can people Marcus follow you,
Speaker 2: keep up with what you're doing?
Speaker 3: What can they do?
Speaker 2: Can I come out to the marathon tomorrow hold up signs,
Speaker 2: give us a little quick, little tidbit.
Speaker 3: How can they find you?
Speaker 4: I would love to see people tomorrow. Always helps to
Speaker 4: inspire us a lot. The way go to Liam's Lifestyle
Speaker 4: Org the people can donate to with saying or asking
Speaker 4: people to donate five four point five we have calculating
Speaker 4: it's going to cost us about two hundred thousand dollars
Speaker 4: to make Liam's Law, something that has been the goal
Speaker 4: and the vision since I was in the hospital when
Speaker 4: we thought our son was starting to make it. It
Speaker 4: was declared andred and we donate this organst. There's something
Speaker 4: that's word to us as well that people stand up
Speaker 4: for organization. But that's where they can reach out to
Speaker 4: the local politicians. It's important to remember the politicians answer
Speaker 4: to us. We're constituents, and by making them understand how
Speaker 4: important this bill is, we can get it reintroduced and passed.
Speaker 4: Because just in California alone, we lose over two hundred
Speaker 4: lives a year because California TAXPA is over twenty billion
Speaker 4: dollars a year in tax in don't driving related past
Speaker 4: such as productivity, property, legal or medical. And again I
Speaker 4: talk about fatalities. We're not even talking about the people
Speaker 4: they end up with brain damage, or the people that
Speaker 4: end up in a wheelchair, and the families that are
Speaker 4: left behind. So you know, for me in many ways,
Speaker 4: even though Liam's younger siblings Nico, Luna and Milo is
Speaker 4: six months old now, they never got a chance to
Speaker 4: meet the older brother. But the true for other bands.
Speaker 4: I don't want other bands to ever have to experience
Speaker 4: the pain of losing a child. And unfortunately, you know
Speaker 4: this disease is and so on and some things that
Speaker 4: we can change or step from happening. But these were
Speaker 4: kidding favorite stuff tomorrow, So please go to Liam's life
Speaker 4: thought or make you follow us on social media as
Speaker 4: well at remember Lillam's Life and my personal or Instagram
Speaker 4: is Atla mac cobal kow Al.
Speaker 2: Marcus Corvill, thank you so much for being on with us.
Speaker 2: I'll make sure to link out your website as well
Speaker 2: again so people can donate, follow you and hopefully sign
Speaker 2: that petition to get that federal BAC but alcohol content
Speaker 2: level lower. Thank you so much, Marcus, and good luck tomorrow.
Speaker 4: Thank you, I appreciate the time.
Speaker 2: You're most welcome. Up next everyone, Michael Monks, so be
Speaker 2: here shortly. Have a wonderful weekend. Be safe, enjoy your
Speaker 2: Saint Patti's Day in a safe way. Please do not
Speaker 2: drink and drive. Call a friend or stay home if
Speaker 2: you so. If you so insist on drinking, do not
Speaker 2: drink and drive. Let this interview really inspire you and
Speaker 2: motivate you to do something different for a change. Have
Speaker 2: a great week and a safe weekend. I'll see you
Speaker 2: back here next Saturday. Rest in peace to that little eaglet.
Speaker 2: It's been a blast. KFI AM six forty I see
Speaker 2: you Michael Monks live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app
Speaker 1: KFI AM six forty on demand