You Drink & Drive. You Lose. National Crackdown

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      July 2003 Crackdown

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You Drink & Drive. You Lose. National Crackdown
Talking Points

This is the first crackdown since ALL 50 States and DC have passed .08 Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) legal limits for drunk driving.

Uniform State laws reinforce that driving with .08 BAC and above is dangerous and will not be tolerated throughout the entire United States.
Uniform State laws strengthen the hand of law enforcement officers to prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law.
This past July, Colorado and Delaware joined 48 previous States and the District of Columbia in lowering their Drunk Driving limit to .08 BAC.
Lower BAC limits save lives by allowing law enforcement to legally ticket impaired drivers sooner, before they cause a crash.
The message is clear: nationwide, there is no room on our roads for driving impaired.

Impaired Driving is a Serious Crime

As a community we all support law enforcement efforts to protect us from theft, burglary, assault, and terrorism. Yet many otherwise law-abiding citizens continue to view impaired driving merely as a traffic offense.
Be aware – impaired driving is no accident nor is it a victimless crime.
Impaired driving is one of the most committed crimes. Every 30 minutes, nearly 50 times a day, someone dies in an alcohol-related crash. That means you, your friends or family are just as likely to be victims.
Nationally, more than 17,400 people died in alcohol-related crashes last year.

Too many people still don’t understand that alcohol, drugs and driving don’t mix.
To protect families during this long holiday weekend, local law enforcement agencies will be out in full force, from August 27 to September 12, 2004 as part of the You Drink & Drive. You Lose. National Crackdown to keep citizens safe from impaired drivers.
The national crackdown is a partnership of criminal justice and traffic safety officials across the nation who join forces to catch impaired drivers and lock them up.
Local Law Enforcement will be out in full force conducting saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints depending on the State and community to identify and arrest impaired drivers.

America Supports … Tougher Enforcement

Nearly 97 % of Americans view impaired driving as a threat to the community.
Studies show that the majority of Americans consider impaired driving one of our Nation’s most important social issues, ahead of healthcare, poverty/hunger and education.
The majority of Americans support increased use of enforcement efforts, such as saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints to protect victims.
Three out of four Americans strongly endorse the use of stricter and more severe penalties against impaired drivers, to protect themselves and their loved ones.

National Advertising Campaign

To help raise awareness about the campaign, the U.S. Congress provided the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration a record $14 million to produce and place national advertisements on English and Spanish national TV and radio programming to coincide with the Crackdown.
The ads will run on national networks and programs primarily viewed by 21-34 males. Research shows this demographic is the most likely to drive impaired.
The research shows that the best way to affect behavior change among this group is increased threat of arrest, imprisonment and prosecution and the ads focus on this.

If You Drink Irresponsibly and Drive – You May Face Consequences

If you find it hard to figure out if you’ve had too many drinks to drive – don’t risk it.
The message is simple – You Drink & Drive. You Lose.
Violators can lose their license, time from their jobs, and lose money in high fines and court costs, as well as face imprisonment for repeat offense, assault and vehicular manslaughter.
Refuse a BAC test and you can lose your license on the spot and have your car impounded.
You’ll be spending your money on bail, court, lawyer, and towing fees instead of on your last summer vacation.

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