20th Safe & Sober Planner

Operation ABC

You Drink & Drive. You Lose.

A Comprehensive Impaired Driving Program

Six key elements to build state and community programs

Using the Partners in Progress: An Impaired Driving Guide for Action as the framework, NHTSA developed a model comprehensive impaired driving program for use by states and communities. The program includes the following elements:

  1. Prevention and Public Education
  2. Enforcement
  3. Prosecution, Adjudication, and Treatment
  4. Legislation
  5. Partnerships and Outreach
  6. Program Support

Each program element is defined in more detail, along with brief examples of strategies and support activities. Several program elements include the strategies identified in the Partners in Progress: An Impaired Driving Guide for Action for reference.

1. Prevention and Public Education
Partners in Progress: An Impaired Driving Guide for Action strategy — Develop and implement a comprehensive, balanced public awareness campaign focused on safety and healthy lifestyles.

Effective prevention programs can reduce impaired driving through approaches commonly associated with public health — altering social norms, changing risky or dangerous behaviors, and creating protective environments.

Prevention and public health programs promote activities to educate the public on the effects of alcohol and other drugs, limit alcohol and drug availability, and prevent those impaired by alcohol and drugs from driving. Prevention programs are typically carried out in schools, colleges, work sites, medical and healthcare facilities.

States and communities are encouraged to implement a system of impaired driving prevention activities and work with the traffic safety, education, health, and medical communities to foster healthy communities and reduce traffic-related injuries and their resulting costs. States and communities are encouraged to:

  • Work with state and community agencies, organizations, and education institutions that conduct prevention programs to incorporate impaired driving activity into their priority prevention efforts; and
  • Develop new and/or utilize existing educational materials and training programs to facilitate prevention program activities.

PI&E Programs: Target High Risk Groups
Public information and education (PI&E) programs directed at impaired driving are essential for reducing the risk of associated injury or death and resulting medical, legal, and other societal costs. Campaigns and messages should appeal to high risk populations, such as 21-to 34-year-olds, youth, and repeat offenders. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century also addresses some of the same elements in its criteria for the alcohol incentive grants under Section 410. These incentive grants provide financial resources to states and communities to expand comprehensive impaired driving programs.

Programs should start at the state level and extend to communities through model programs and public involvement. States and communities are encouraged to:

  • Have a plan, program, and coordinator for all impaired driving PI&E activities;
  • Develop their own PI&E campaigns and materials — either by adapting materials from the federal government or other states and communities; or, by creating new campaigns and materials;
  • Encourage businesses and private organizations to participate in impaired driving PI&E campaigns;
  • Encourage the media to support impaired driving highway safety issues by reporting on programs, activities (including enforcement campaigns), alcohol-related arrests, and all alcohol-related crashes; and
  • Promote "designated driver" programs and other alternative transportation programs.