Holiday Impaired Driving Campaign
Let’s get everyone home for the holidays!
That’s a happy and lighthearted outlook appropriate for the joy of the season, but it’s said against a bleak backdrop: Traffic fatalities reached a 20-year high in 2021, and preliminary data indicate 2022 will be deadlier. As you know, more than half of traffic fatalities involve impaired drivers.
The good news is that we can all do our part to ensure there are no additional empty chairs at holiday tables. Everyone can step in to prevent someone from driving drunk or high. Washington law enforcement will be doing their part with High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) patrols across the state December 14 through January 1. You can help too — by sharing the message that we all play a role in getting everyone home safely.
The social media messages, graphics, and video (in English and Spanish) in this month’s campaign will help you get that message out.
Please take a moment to download the materials and use them as you communicate this holiday season.
Thank you and Happy Holidays!
News Release
For Immediate Release
December 12, 2022
We All Play a Role in Getting Everyone Home for the Holidays
Traffic patrols remind Washingtonians to drive sober this holiday season
OLYMPIA — Each year, the holidays bring friends, families, and loved ones together. However, for too many families, this time of year is also a stark reminder of those who are missing from the celebrations. As of the end of October this year, there were 639 people in Washington who died in traffic crashes, and whose chairs will be empty at holiday gatherings.
“Traffic fatalities reached a 20-year high in 2021, and preliminary data through October shows that there have been 15% more deaths so far in 2022, compared to the first 10 months of 2021,” said Mark McKechnie from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC). “Every year, more than half of traffic fatalities involve impaired drivers.”
Linda Thompson has dedicated her life’s work to preventing these tragic deaths after losing her 3-year-old son to a multiple repeat DUI offender in 1986. Thompson, who is the executive director of the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council, said, “In an instant, our little guy was taken because someone made the choice to drive impaired–totally unaware that the pain they caused will dwell in our hearts forever.”
Lori Markowitz also lost her son, Josh, in 2021 to an impaired hit-and-run driver who was driving at a high rate of speed on city streets. Lori said, “I’m not the same person I was before the night Josh was killed. But in the year-plus since, I have had an opportunity to learn some things. Until my family was affected, for example, I never knew traffic crashes were preventable. That we have the tools to reduce them.”
The WTSC announced that more than 120 law enforcement agencies across the state will be taking part in High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) patrols beginning December 14th and continuing through January 1, 2023. Officers will be focused on preventing further tragedy by removing impaired drivers from Washington roads.
In addition to the extra patrols, the WTSC reminds all people in Washington that there are simple things we can all do to prevent impaired driving like planning ahead for a sober ride home if you will be out drinking alcohol or using cannabis. Friends and loved ones can help to prevent DUIs by offering a sober ride, calling a rideshare, or offering a place to sleep.
The WTSC also encourages calling 911 to report someone who is driving impaired, or if you observe someone swerving in and out of their lane and driving erratically. This can include speeding, braking suddenly or inappropriately, or making wide turns.
“Impaired driving crashes are totally preventable. We can all do our part to keep impaired drivers off our roads so that no one has to miss their loved ones during the holiday season,” McKechnie said.
###
- There will be too many empty chairs at holiday tables this December. Through October of this year, 639 people died in traffic crashes in Washington.
- Traffic fatalities reached a 20-year high in 2021, and preliminary data suggests an increase of 15% more deaths through October this year compared with the first 10 months of 2021.
- More than 50% of traffic fatalities involve impaired drivers.
- We don’t have to live with these statistics. We have the tools to prevent fatal crashes and get everyone home for the holidays.
- As Washington prepares to celebrate the holiday season, let’s all do our part. Be sober behind the wheel and prevent someone you care about from getting a DUI.
- Most people in Washington – 78% – never drink before driving. That’s a choice that’s easy to live with.
- We can help protect our friends and families too, by preventing someone from driving while impaired. 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. We 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
Sample Social Media Posts
The following are sample graphics and related content that we encourage you to use on your organization’s social media. Feel free to adapt for use on your website or customized emails too.
If you’re hanging out and someone drank alcohol or used cannabis, make sure they don’t get behind the wheel. Here’s how:
- Offer to give them a ride 🙋
- Let them crash on your couch 🛋️
- Arrange a rideshare for them 🚕
Si estás divirtiéndote con amigos y alguien tomó alcohol o usó cannabis, asegúrate de que no manejen. Así es cómo:
- Ofréceles un aventón 🙋
- Dales tu sofá para pasar la noche 🛋️
- Pide un taxi por ellos 🚕
You don’t need to rely on Santa. You can help prevent impaired driving by:
- offering your couch for the night
- providing a ride
- arranging a ride
Deadly crashes are preventable. This holiday season offer a ride or your couch to someone who is impaired. Let’s get everyone home for the holidays.
Most of us say we will stop someone from driving drunk or high. Will you?
81% say they will stop someone from driving drunk or high. Will you?
