Full Notification

Paulding County Announces the Media Release of
“Drive High, It’s Still DUI”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c83WEg3X3YI (Click to view the PSA/commercial)

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office is proud to announce the release of a new driver safety television ad that didn’t cost the taxpayers a penny, but it’s worth its weight in gold for the lives it could save on our highways.

“Drive High, It’s Still DUI” is an educational ad designed to make local viewers more aware of the problems associated with driving under the influence of many everyday prescription and over-the-counter drugs as well as what are commonly mislabeled as “recreational drugs.”

“It’s time we emphasize that a DUI charge can include more than driving under the influence of alcohol.  Impaired driving can include all of these drug categories too,” said Paulding County Sheriff Gary Gulledge.  “Drugged-driving can impair motor skills, reaction time, and judgment.  Drugs can alter perception, attention, balance, coordination and other essential faculties required for safe driving.”

“That’s why many prescription drugs come with a warning against operating heavy machinery, including motor vehicles, for a specific period of time after use,” said Director Bob Dallas of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.  “How many people take drugs and then drive is a scary question, because no one knows for sure.  What we do know is that our studies show drugs are used by 10-to-22 percent of drivers involved in crashes,” said Director Dallas.  “And scarier still, many of those drivers take drugs in combination with alcohol before they climb behind the wheel.” 

“Someone killed or injured in a drugged-driving crash is just as dead or maimed as from an alcohol-related crash,” said Paulding County District Attorney Drew Lane.  “The deadly effects are the same.  And so are the DUI charges, jail time, fines, and court costs.”

We know that vehicle crashes are still the leading cause of death of our young people, age 16-to-20 years old.  And we know that because teens are our least experienced drivers they run a higher risk of being involved in a crash.  “When this lack of experience is combined with the use of illegal or prescription drugs it makes drugged-driving a public health concern that places not only the driver at risk, but everyone else who shares the road,” said Paulding County Probate Court Judge Deborah Andersen.  That’s why we decided to make this public service ad we call, “Drive High, It’s Still DUI”.

The “Drive High, It’s Still DUI” PSA project was coordinated by the Paulding County District Attorney’s Office, Probate Court, and Sheriff’s Office working in partnership with Georgia State Patrol Post 3 in Cartersville, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (H.E.A.T.) Team, and the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

Aside from its no-nonsense approach to this seldom explored side of Georgia’s impaired driving problem, the other remarkable aspect of Paulding County’s new public service ad is that no taxpayer dollars were spent to make this highway safety PSA.  Although the ad has all the features of a first-rate commercially produced public service message for TV, the entire production was planned and produced for public service broadcast based on a zero-dollar budget and the work of local volunteers.

Paulding County government is commending Comcast Spotlight cable for volunteering their commercial inventory resources to broadcast our new driver safety television ad during their summer schedule... Without charge.     

Paulding County also thanks local TV and film producer Jason Sirotin who also volunteered his time and production team resources to write, shoot and edit the ad for the Paulding County Courts... At no cost.

Adding to that collaboration, employees from Paulding County Public Safety, the District Attorney’s Office, Probate Court, Supervision Services and Georgia State Patrol volunteered as extras and came in on their days off to play the role of offenders in the criminal justice system.  The few professional character actors involved worked for the satisfaction of listing a community relations project on their resumes. 

In order to keep other costs down, the video was kept on a tight production schedule, completing all videotaped sequences during two consecutive Saturdays. Instead of paying to build or rent sets, rooms at the new Paulding County Courthouse were adapted at no cost for multiple location shots before those facilities were open to the public.   A scheduled police road check provided the background scenes for the real-life local law enforcement officers (representing the role of sheriff’s deputies, State Troopers, and a H.E.A.T. enforcement team) as they simulated a Driving Under the Influence of Drugs arrest for the educational ad.

At a time when law enforcement everywhere is being asked to do more and more with less and less, the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office is proud to be a part of this community highway safety education project. 
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