HALLOWEEN PLANNER
FACT SHEET AND TALKING POINTS

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Impaired Driving Can Turn Halloween into a Real Nightmare

• With more than half of the Nation’s traffic fatalities over Halloween weekend related to alcohol, [Local Leader/Organization] announced today the launch of a strong push this Halloween season to remind all party-goers to never drink and drive -- and to always remember to designate a sober driver.
  
  
• Americans who drive while impaired during Halloween make it one of the year’s most dangerous and deadliest holidays due to alcohol-related crashes.
  
  
• Impaired driving is no accident – nor is it “a victimless crime.”
  
  
• In 2003, 53 percent of all highway fatalities at Halloween were alcohol-related – with 45 percent of the total fatalities involving a drunk driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of 0.08 or higher – the legal limit in all States and in the District of Columbia.
  
  
• But the nightmare of drinking and driving impaired does not end at the tragic death, disfigurement, disability, and injury caused by impaired drivers.
  
  
• If you’re caught and arrested for driving impaired, you face serious consequences and significant costs.
  
  
• NHTSA estimates that highway crashes cost society $230.6 billion a year, about $820 per person.

Plan Ahead -- Designate a Sober Driver Before All Halloween Festivities

• Be responsible and never drive impaired.
  
  
• If you plan to drink, choose your sober driver before going out.
  
  
• Once impaired, use mass transit, call a cab, or ask a sober friend to get you home.
  
  
• If all else fails, just stay where you are and sleep it off.
  
  
• Always buckle up – it’s still your best defense against an impaired driver.
  
  
• If you are hosting a Halloween party, make sure all of your guests leave with a sober driver.
  
  
• Remember: Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.

Impaired Driving is Deadly Serious

• Statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 2004 show that nearly 13,000 people died in highway crashes involving a driver or a motorcycle operator with an illegal blood alcohol concentration level of 0.08 or higher.

Impaired driving is a crime. (Optional)

• Driving a vehicle while impaired is not worth the risk. The consequences are serious and real. Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for driving while impaired can be really significant.
  
  
• Violators often face jail time, the loss of their driver’s licenses, higher insurance rates, and dozens of other unanticipated expenses from attorney fees, other fines and court costs, car towing and repairs, lost time at work, etc.
  
  
• Plus, there is the added embarrassment, humiliation, and other consequences after informing family, friends, and employers.
  
  
• For more information about the importance of stopping impaired driving, please visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org.

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