Don’t Let Your Summer End with a DUI The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign Runs Aug. 21 – Sept. 7
SACRAMENTO, CA— As summer winds down, law enforcement is ramping up efforts as part of a national crackdown on drunk and drugged driving. The 18-day, high-visibility campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, is a statewide campaign to curb impaired driving and save lives. August 21-September 7 (Labor Day), law enforcement agencies across the state and nationwide will show zero tolerance for drunk or drugged driving. Increased state and national messaging about the dangers of driving drunk, coupled with checkpoints and increased officers on the road, aim to reduce the toll of drunk driving. The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) is reminding motorists to plan ahead by designating a sober driver.
“Summer and holidays are times for fun and family, not for the tragedy that can come from a traffic crash,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “Avoiding a crash or DUI arrest is simple. Make sure that every summer and Labor Day celebration has a designated sober driver.”
Statistically, someone is killed in a drunk-driving crash every 52 minutes. But over the 2013 Labor Day weekend, those fatalities increased to one every 28 minutes. Nationally in 2013, there were over 10,000 killed in drunk and drugged driving crashes, almost a third of all traffic fatalities, as well as and hundreds of thousands injured. In California alone, nearly 1,200 died and over 23,000 were injured in alcohol involved crashes. Thirty-eight percent of crash fatalities on Labor Day weekend in 2013 involved drunk drivers with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of .08 percent or higher. More than a quarter (27 percent) of the crash fatalities that occurred on Labor Day weekend involved drivers with BACs of .15 or higher – almost twice the illegal limit.
OTS now offers a free mobile app that makes being the designated driver easy and worth your while. The app, “DDVIP” for Designated Driver VIP, is available for download on iOS and Android devices. DDVIP offers features that designated drivers can take advantage of, like allowing users to “Map a Spot” with their current location to find DDVIP partnering establishments in their area or a “List of Spots” to search all participating bars and restaurants throughout California. Users will be offered free incentives at each bar to celebrate their life saving role. They can stay up-to-date with the latest from DDVIP and see what other users are saying via its social tab. Also through the app, for those who want to imbibe but also make it a point to plan ahead, users can easily order a sober ride from Uber, Lyft or Curb – all from one screen.
For more information on impaired driving and other tips on staying safe behind the wheel, visit the California Office of Traffic Safety at www.ots.ca.gov or via facebook.com/CaliforniaOTS and twitter.com/OTS_CA.
Address/Location
Chula Vista Police Department
315 4th Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 619-691-5151