Superbowl Weekend Traffic Safety Campaign Overview
The Rams and Bengals face off against each other this Sunday for Superbowl LVI. As fans prepare to gather and celebrate the annual football tradition, we want to remind them to make plans for sober driving after the game.
Help get the word out – we’ve created football themed social media graphics to remind fans to drive sober and help others do the same.
We’ve also prepared a fact sheet and messages highlighting the rising trend of deaths and crashes from DUIs, to underscore the need for action.
Thank you for sharing these materials, and all you do for traffic safety.
- 2020 was one of the deadliest years in Washington from DUI-related crashes, despite fewer drivers on the road.
- Preliminary data for 2021 also indicates an increase in deaths last year from driver impairment.
- During Superbowl weekend, let’s team up for sober driving. Be sober behind the wheel and prevent someone you care about from getting a DUI.
- We can reverse the alarming trend in deaths and injuries from DUIs if we all team up.
- Most people in Washington – 78% – never drink before driving. That’s a choice that’s easy to live with.
- An interception can win the game. An interception to prevent someone driving drunk or high can save lives. Most Washingtonians – 81% – say they will step in to prevent someone from driving drunk or high.
- You’d reach out to stop a friend from falling or getting hurt from an unseen danger. Most of us do the same when we stop people we love from driving drunk or high.
Effective Ways to Stop Someone from Driving Drunk or High
- If you encounter a situation where someone might drive impaired, you can:
- Arrange for or provide a ride
- Arrange for the person to stay where they are
- Offer your couch for the night
- Engage someone else to help, including calling 911
- Calling 911 to prevent a crash is better than calling to report one. Taking action to prevent a DUI-related crash is an emergency.
- When talking to 911 dispatchers, they will want to know the following (without putting yourself in danger):
- the make and model of the car
- license plate number
- route and direction being travelled
- a description of the driver
Fewer Drivers but More DUIs, Crashes and Deaths
- 2020 had the highest number of polydrug drivers in fatal crashes, ever (and highest number of impaired drivers by either alcohol or drugs).
- August 2021 was the deadliest month on Washington’s roads (77 deaths) since 1997 (91 deaths).
- Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in 2020 was down 15% compared with 2019, and at times as low as 60% less.
- At the same time, fatalities in DUI- involved crashes increased 12.4% and serious injuries increased 32.4% over 2019.
- Preliminary data shows that 2021 had the highest number of traffic fatalities since 2005.
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Sample Social Media Messages & Graphics
The following are sample graphics and related content that we encourage you to use on your organization’s social media. To download or save the image, right click (or long press on mobile) and save or copy the image. Then paste it into a social media post or upload it when creating a post. Click on an image to see a full sized version you can download. Feel free to adapt for use on your website or customized emails too.
During Superbowl weekend, let’s team up for sober driving. Be sober behind the wheel and prevent someone you care about from getting a DUI.
We can reverse the alarming trend in deaths and injuries from DUIs if we all team up.
Most of us – 81% – say we will step in to prevent someone from driving drunk or high. Do something if you see someone about to drive impaired after partying Superbowl weekend.
Make a winning move to prevent DUIs after the game:
-Arrange for or provide a ride
-Arrange for the person to stay where they are
-Offer your couch for the night
-Engage someone else to help, including calling 911
See someone driving drunk or high after the game? Calling 911 is an acceptable intervention
