Community
Action Planner
Agenda
Sample Proclamation
Sample Letter of Support
Law Enforcement Action Planner
Saturation
Patrols & Sobriety Checkpoint Guide
Small Scale Sobriety Checkpoints
Sample News Releases
Community Organizations
Law Enforcement
Youth Oriented
Sample Op Eds
Community Organizations
Physician-Nurse
Student Organizations
Talking Points
Fact Sheet
Live Radio Announcer Copy
Bathroom Stall Posters (pdf)
Logo
Art (pdf)
Research Notes
Forecasts
of Crash
Fatalities (pdf)
Public
Perceptions of the
July 2003 Crackdown
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You Drink & Drive. You Lose. National
Crackdown Community Action Planner
Securing Support in Your Community
for the You Drink & Drive.
You Lose. National Crackdown
Publicize What You’re
Already Doing
As with most States and communities, your community is already engaged
in the fight against this serious and deadly crime. By joining
the crackdown, you will become part of a powerful force that is
reaching millions of Americans through national and local media and
the Internet.
And as with any criminal offense, the best way to deter impaired
driving is through a highly visible media campaign with the entire
community and criminal justice system working together - enforcement,
prosecution, adjudications and sanctions - to reinforce the message
that violators are criminals and that there is a high risk of being
caught, prosecuted and jailed.
You can use existing laws, such as administrative
license revocation, .08 BAC, zero tolerance or vehicle confiscation
laws, to show the consequences of impaired driving. Prosecutors
and judges also can provide the court’s perspective and explain
what offenders can lose, not only in time away from work but in
high fines and court costs.
It Takes a Criminal Justice System Approach
All too often impaired drivers arrive home safely and are never caught
or punished for their crimes, which only reinforces future decisions.
The key to protecting innocent victims from impaired drivers is
to take a systematic approach that includes highly visible and
coordinated efforts by criminal justice officials, traffic safety
advocates, and private and public partners. The Saturation Patrols
and Sobriety Checkpoint Guide is a great tool to help you plan
and coordinate your efforts(www.stopimpaireddriving.org).
Working With Community Outreach and Advocacy Groups
In most cases, community outreach and advocacy groups are primed
and ready to assist law enforcement’s efforts. For example,
many communities have local MADD chapters that have existing programs
and resources available to help you raise awareness about your
efforts. MADD can assist you with identifying spokespersons, volunteers
for setting
up checkpoints or to distribute informational literature to the public.
For more information on MADD and local chapters, please visit their
web site at www.madd.org.
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Working with Judges and
Prosecutors
By securing the support of local prosecutors and providing education
to judges in advance, you can help ensure that impaired drivers aren’t
just arrested but also suitably prosecuted and punished for their
crimes - the key to developing a strong deterrent message. Showing
that the public overwhelmingly supports their actions results in
fewer dismissals, pleas and appropriate penalties. Judges and prosecutors
can make excellent resources and spokespeople for your programs and
reinforce that impaired drivers are criminals who will be punished
for breaking the law. You can get more information from the National
District Attorneys Association web site at www.ndaa.org.
Working with Business and Professional Organizations
Beyond the community groups and the judicial system, law enforcement
agencies should work to secure the support of local businesses for
their efforts. Businesses can distribute information to their employees
notifying them of sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols. Talk
to human resources managers of local companies about inviting a law
enforcement officer to speak with employees on the dangers of impaired
driving, how it can affect their work, and how families and friends
can join officials to fight this deadly crime.
Professional organizations such as the Rotary,
Kiwanis, or the Chamber of Commerce can also provide excellent opportunities
to educate the public on your efforts to curb impaired driving. Members
of these groups are often opinion leaders within their communities.
As partners, they can help give visibility and credibility to your
efforts. The National Employers for Traffic Safety web site offers
great tips for promoting traffic safety in the workplace (www.netsnational.org).
Consider contacting these groups as well:
- Local Chamber of Commerce
- Restaurants and bars
- Food and beverage retailers
- Beverage distributors.
What is a “Safe Community”?
Everyone wants to live in a safe community, but what can we really
do to help?
A Safe Community coalition promotes activities to solve
local highway and traffic safety and other injury prevention programs.
Coalition members can include concerned individuals, law enforcement,
public health, medical, injury prevention, education, business,
civic and service groups, public works offices, and traffic safety
advocates. Members help to identify their community’s top
safety problems and put together a plan to address these issues.
You can find out if there is a Safe Communities program in your
area by contacting your regional NHTSA office, or visit NHTSA’s
Safe Communities site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/safecommunities.
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Health Care Professionals, Your Partners on the
Front Line
Health care workers can be very effective speakers for your cause.
Public health, medical, and health care professionals are often among
the first to see the consequences of an impaired driving crash. Work
with them to get the word out at speaking engagements, town hall
meetings, and news conferences. The Emergency Nurses Association
is a great source for information and active in many communities
nationwide. Please visit their web site at www.ena.org for more information.
Medical, public health and emergency service organizations
for your crackdown may include:
- Local hospitals
- Fire and rescue departments
- Physicians and nurses
- Local health department
- Emergency medical service
providers
- Local American Red Cross chapter.
Getting Your Issue Recognized
Generating discussion in your area is critical for creating broad
support for your efforts. Hosting town hall meetings, writing
letters to the editor of your newspaper, and letter writing campaigns
to law makers are just a few ways you can create interest and
support. Below are some basic suggestions to help you get started.
Town Hall Meetings
Town hall meetings are a good way to engage the community in
a discussion about impaired driving and the need for sobriety
checkpoints. Open discussions, like town hall meetings, get the
dialogue flowing in your community and help educate people about
the dangers of impaired driving, as well as ways you are working
to stop it. They can often be organized through existing networks,
such as a local Safe Communities coalition.
Meet with your partners to form a task force to choose a date
and discuss how you want to plan and publicize your town hall
meeting. The town hall meeting should feature a speaker’s panel. Generally,
three to five speakers are enough. Each speaker should limit his
or her comments to not more than five minutes.
A panel could include any combination of the following:
- The Mayor
- City Council member or County Commissioner
- The
heads of law enforcement agencies in your area (Police, Sheriff,
Highway Patrol)
- Local and state legislators
- Local reporter
- Members of minority organizations
- Local judge
- Representative from the
prosecutor’s
office
- Member of the Chamber of Commerce
- Local insurance
agent
- High school or community drug and alcohol counselor
- The
President or Executive Director of a local impaired driving prevention
group (MADD, AAA, RID, Safe
Communities)
- Local youth organization representative
(MADD, SADD, PTA)
- Convicted impaired driver
- Member of the health
care community such as a nurse or physician
- Representative from
local fire and rescue department
- Victim of an impaired driver
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Publicize Your Meeting
The next step is to publicize
your meeting date. Encourage the general public to attend. Have each
partner invite their associates or members of their organization
to make sure that there is a full audience. Partner with local media
by inviting a reporter or TV anchor to moderate the meeting. Find
out how to go about televising your town hall meeting on your local
community or government access station.
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