Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
Introduction
Drunk driving remains one of the most critical public safety issues the society is concerned about and its dangerous consequences on road safety. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), one person is killed in a drunk-driving crash every 39 minutes, resulting in over 13,000 lives lost each year. Drunk driving is a major risk factor for a large number of accidents, casualties, and injuries on the roads. According to data, 1,013 lives lost in drunk-driving crashes in December 2021, 4,561 people killed in December drunk-driving crashes from 2017-2021. The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign aims to change individual behaviors by raising awareness about the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol and encouraging safe driving practices through strategic communication and heightened enforcement. This campaign targets drivers across the United States, aiming to highlight the serious legal consequences of drunk driving with the slogan “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” It addresses the issue of drunk driving by highlighting the consequences of irresponsible driving behavior. and encouraging individuals to make responsible choices when it comes to alcohol consumption and driving. By leveraging a robust media strategy and high-visibility enforcement efforts, the campaign seeks to create a deterrent effect and attempt to induce drivers to change their drunk driving behaviors, ultimately saving lives and reducing the societal burden of alcohol-related crashes.
Drink, drive, go to jail? A study of police officers arrested for drunk driving
Abstract
The purpose of the current study is to provide empirical data on cases of police driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol and/or drugs. The study identifies events that may have influenced the decision to arrest, including associated traffic accidents, fatalities, officer resistance, the refusal of field sobriety tests, and the refusal of blood alcohol content tests. The study is a quantitative content analysis of news articles identified through the Google News search engine using 48 automated Google Alerts queries. Data are analyzed on 782 DUI arrest cases of officers employed by 511 nonfederal law enforcement agencies throughout the United States. The study is the only study known to describe police officer DUI arrests as they occur within police agencies across the United States.
A ‘Hands on’ Public Service Program to Help People Stay Sober and Safer on the
Roadway
Abstract
Despite the existence of many different “Don’t drink and drive” programs and campaigns over the past 30 years, alcohol intoxication has continued to account for approximately one quarter to one third of all traffic crashes and crash-related deaths in the United States. The present study describes a new ‘hands on’ evidence-based approach involving real alcohol-intoxicated subjects using a virtual reality (VR) driving ‘game’ to educate the public more effectively about the dangers of drunk driving. A single demonstration subject ‘drove’ a VR-based portable driving simulator on multiple occasions before (Pre) and at 30 min intervals for up to six hours after either vehicle (no alcohol), two, four or six ‘drinks’ (3, 6, or 9 ounces of 80 proof vodka). The defensive driving task was a choice reaction crash avoidance steering maneuver in which the driver’s task was to determine which way to turn to avoid a crash and then aggressively steer away to avoid a crash. The primary dependent variable was the latency to initiate an avoidance steering response. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) determinations (estimations) were conducted immediately prior to driving tests using BAC Track portable breathalyzers. Control drives (Pre-Treatment and Vehicle treatment) were characterized by an approximately 300–320 ms reaction time to initiate a crash avoidance. Alcohol increased crash-avoidance reaction time. Peak BAC values were 35, 78 and 120 mg/dL for two, four and six drinks, respectively; the decline in BAC was comparable and linear for all three treatments. There was a strong correlation (r = 0.85) between pre-drive BAC level and reaction time across all of the alcohol-related drives. There was a significant increase in crash avoidance reaction time when the BAC was 50–79 mg/dL, which is below the legally defined BAC limit (80 mg/dL) currently used in most states in the US. These results demonstrate that (1) this VR-based driving simulator task could be a useful ‘hands on’ tool for providing public service demonstrations regarding the hazards of drinking and driving and (2) a BAC concentration of 50 mg/dL represents a reasonable evidence-based cut-off for alcohol-impaired driving.
Effectiveness of Sobriety Checkpoints for Reducing Alcohol-Involved Crashes
Abstract
The goal of sobriety checkpoints is to deter drinking and driving by systematically stopping drivers for assessment of alcohol impairment, thus increasing the perceived risk of arrest for alcohol-impaired driving. This review examines the effectiveness of random breath testing (RBT) checkpoints, at which all drivers stopped are given breath tests for blood alcohol levels, and selective breath testing (SBT) checkpoints, at which police must have reason to suspect the driver has been drinking before demanding a breath test. A systematic review of the effectiveness of sobriety checkpoints in reducing alcohol-involved crashes and associated injuries and fatalities was conducted using the methodology developed for the Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide) . Substantial reductions in crashes were observed for both checkpoint types across various outcome measures and time periods. Results suggest that both RBT and SBT checkpoints can play an important role in preventing alcohol-related crashes and associated injuries.