Drunk and drugged driving is a major concern across the country. It is a crime which results in tremendous loss of lives and can prove to be economically devastating to those individuals involved and the public as well. It is a serious problem that affects all persons regardless of age, intelligence, or economic status. Proactive measures over the last several years have accomplished much to increase the public's knowledge of, and concern about, drunk and drugged driving. Prosecutors are leaders within their communities and are looked to for guidance.

It is important that prosecutors play an active role in their community's efforts to educate the public about impaired driving.

These efforts not only improve highway safety, but may make the job of the prosecutor easier. Consider the following ideas as you begin planning 3D Prevention Month and year-round events and make prosecutors part of your Safe Community.

Ideas for 3D Prevention Month Activities:

• Provide press releases for local newspapers, radio, and television stations.
• Give interviews or conduct call-in talk shows for radio and television stations.
• Work with law enforcement agencies to develop safety check roadblocks (where allowed).
• Organize ribbon "tie-ons" with victims organizations, local politicians, or law enforcement agencies. The "tie-ons" can include vehicles and/or trees. The ribbon can be given to those promising to not drink and drive or to remember those who have been killed by impaired drivers.
• Organize candlelight vigils to recognize those who have been killed by impaired drivers.
• Give presentations to school classes on impaired driving laws.
• Provide tours of the courthouse and jail.
• Organize a local Lights On For Life Day to coincide with the National Lights On For Life Day and National Holiday Lifesaver Weekend.
• Organize a car or motorcycle crash scenario to be acted out at local community high schools. The scenario could portray a crash where a young driver is seriously injured, and his best friend, the passenger, is killed, and depict the tragic outcome for all involved.
• Organize impaired motorcycle riding scenarios throughout the community to emphasize how the impaired motorcyclist has become a serious problem.
• Give presentations at driver education classes and service clubs about drunk and drugged driving and its impact on the community.

Successful Alcohol and Impaired Driving Program
Prosecutors routinely take leadership roles in their communities. One such endeavor involved a prosecutor working together with a local school and law enforcement and emergency response personnel. A scenario was developed and a scene portrayed at a local high school where students were drinking and driving after their high school prom. In the scenario, a car crash occurred and one student, the passenger, died. The "jaws-of-life" were required to remove the students from the car. The driver, uninjured, was charged with DUI. The students observed the crash scene, the removal of the bodies, the ambulance trip to the hospital, the hearse carrying the dead student, the emergency room scene, the parents being told that their child is dead, the driver being finger printed and booked, and a judge telling the student the law and possible sentences. This event generated much favorable media.