The month-long campaign highlights the importance of making safe and responsible choices, especially during the holiday season when celebrations often involve alcohol. As we head into the holiday seasons, we urge Americans everywhere to do the right thing. If you plan on drinking, arrange a sober ride home in advance; ride-sharing apps have made getting home safely easier than ever. If you see someone — a friend, loved one, colleague, or anyone else — putting themselves or others at risk, offer to help. The NHTSA’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over and If You Feel Different, You Drive Different media campaigns also occur during the holiday season, from December 18th through January 1st. These campaigns partner with local law enforcement agencies to spread education about the dangers and consequences of driving drunk and/or high.
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over / If You Feel Different, You Drive Different
If you have had alcohol or used substances, do not get behind the wheel—one accident can cost someone their life. Too many families know the pain of losing a loved one to a drunk or drug-impaired driving accident. Each year, more than 10,000 Americans lose their lives in these preventable tragedies. During National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, we remind everyone that they can save lives by driving only when sober, calling for a ride, planning ahead, and making sure friends and loved ones do the same.
Injured in a Missouri Car Accident?
Hopefully this proclamation will help people be mindful of the dangers of these negligent behaviors. Help make the holidays a safe and enjoyable time for everyone by working to prevent impaired driving. December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness about the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or other impairing substances.
Easy + Affordable + Discreet
The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign has also targeted impaired driving this holiday season. Both campaigns are timed to curb impaired driving during the time of year when it is most likely to occur. The holidays are a time of celebration, but they are also a time when too many drivers make poor decisions about driving under the influence. Every year, fatal car accidents change the way some families view the holidays.
- Starting with the American Rescue Plan, my Administration has secured billions of dollars to expand access to substance use services.
- They also provide a deterrent by emphasizing how “law enforcement will be stepping up patrols to get impaired drivers off the roads” (Source).
- Based on these drunk driving rates and fatalities, estimates now show that around “29 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve alcohol-impaired drivers” every day (Source).
- Thank you to President Biden for emphasizing the importance of preventing & ending impaired driving on American roadways.
- In 2019, some 11 percent of Americans drove under the influence, including a staggering 19.6 percent of people aged — and that number has only grown since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Ignition Interlock
Based on these drunk driving rates and fatalities, estimates now show that around “29 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve alcohol-impaired drivers” every day (Source). During this holiday season especially, let us remember all those we have lost to impaired driving and take simple steps to save lives. I encourage every American to plan ahead how you will get home after drinking and to be sure that if you have used any substance you never get behind the wheel. And whenever you see loved ones or colleagues putting themselves or others at risk, step up to offer a hand.
Review the laws and regulations pertaining to ignition interlock requirements in the state of Alabama. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over / If You Feel Different, You Drive Different
In 2019, some 11 percent of Americans drove under the influence, including a staggering 19.6 percent of people aged — and that number has only grown since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Far too many families are left getting that gut-wrenching phone call after an accident — their worlds changed forever. Far too many passengers and pedestrians see their lives destroyed by someone else’s bad decision, and far too many law enforcement officers put themselves at risk to keep impaired drivers off our roads. That starts by working to reduce substance use disorders, raising awareness of the dangers of impaired driving; and investing in technologies that can help prevent crashes, injuries, and deaths. In 2019, some 11 percent of Americans drove under the influence, including a staggering 19.6 percent of people aged 21-25—and that number has only grown since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Far too many families are left getting that gut-wrenching phone call after an accident—their worlds changed forever.
This holiday season, too many American families will have an empty seat at their table after losing a loved one in a drunk or drug-impaired driving accident. During National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, we call on everyone to help save a life by planning ahead, calling for a ride, only driving when sober, and helping friends and loved ones do the same every time. Nearly a third of deadly car wrecks in America involve alcohol, and some 26 million people drove under the influence in 2020, endangering themselves, passengers and passersby, and the law enforcement officers who work to keep our roads safe. Over 10,000 American lives are lost to drunk and drug-impaired driving each year, accounting for nearly a third of all traffic deaths.
Multiple campaigns span the holiday season to address two of the most celebrated and deadliest days of the year, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Officials encourage drivers to plan ahead by designating a sober driver, using rideshare services, or calling a taxi if they plan to drink. Law enforcement agencies across the country increased patrols and sobriety checkpoints during December as part of the nationwide effort to reduce impaired driving. Penalties for driving under the influence can include fines, license suspension, and jail time. As the premier ignition interlock provider, Smart Start has served Louisiana since March of 2002. With over 20 years of experience and statewide service locations, we continue to separate drinking from driving.
- According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, impaired driving remains a significant threat on U.S. roadways.
- Drugged driving, drunk driving, and distracted driving cost Americans billions of dollars and steal the lives of thousands of people every year.
- Still, millions of people drive under the influence each year, not only putting themselves in harm’s way but also endangering passengers, pedestrians, and first responders.
- Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.
- Review the laws and regulations pertaining to ignition interlock requirements in the state of Alabama.
The a proclamation on national impaired driving prevention month, 2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, for example, provides funds for States to develop new technologies that can detect and prevent drunk and drug-impaired driving. It also requires all new passenger motor vehicles to be equipped with crash-averting features, like automatic emergency braking and collision warnings. The Department of Transportation is also partnering with State and local agencies and non-profits to educate the public through its Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over and If You Feel Different, You Drive Different media campaigns. For those planning on drinking, arrange a sober ride home beforehand—ride- sharing apps are a convenient way to get home safely.
This December, we highlight resources to help the field serve victims of impaired driving. In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth. In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-seventh.
My Administration is advancing new tools that can help prevent driving under the influence and improve road safety. Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests in technologies that can detect and prevent impaired driving, and it requires all new passenger cars to include features like collision warnings and automatic emergency braking, which can help to avoid accidents. The Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy works to eliminate traffic deaths and make crashes less destructive. For example, their Safe Streets and Roads for All program offers more than $800 million in grants to help cities, counties, Tribes, and other organizations plan and implement measures improve the safety of our Nation’s roadways.