Labor Day Weekend signifies the end of summer, white clothes, and weekends at the beach. This year, Labor Day Weekend also signifies the end of an 18-day crackdown on impaired driving. Law Enforcement Agencies statewide are participating in the nationwide campaign called “Over the Limit. Under Arrest.” The 18-day initiative began on Friday, August 20 and will culminate on Labor Day (Monday, September 6).

Nationwide this campaign aims to reduce the deaths and injuries associated with impaired driving. Roughly every 40 minutes someone in the United States is killed in an alcohol-related accident. Last year, over one million people were injured in drunk driving accidents. In New York State, there were more than 9,000 alcohol-related accidents in 2008 and almost 400 lives were lost. While these numbers are a significant improvement from years past, New York State Law Enforcement Officials worry the public would become complacent about impaired driving issues without campaigns like this.

Law Enforcement Officials across the state have spoken out in support of the impaired driving crackdown. Personnel from Law Enforcement Agencies across the state are coming together to increase their impaired driving enforcement efforts through September 6. Law Enforcement will be aggressively looking for impaired drives. For those drivers who are found driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) over .08 they will be over the limit and under arrest.

The campaign follow closely behind the new ignition interlock provision that went into effect August 15. The new provision under Leandra’s Law requires anyone convicted of a drunk driving charge to install an ignition interlock device in any vehicle he or she operates. This applies to people who are convicted on both felony and misdemeanor charges. Anyone required to install the ignition interlocking device will do so at his or her own expense.

In New York, the campaign is part of the states STOP-DWI efforts. STOP-DWI is an acronym for “Special Traffic Options Program for Driving While Intoxicated.” According to the New York State STOP-DWI Association, highly visible law enforcement efforts are an effective deterrent against impaired driving. It also serves to remind New Yorkers that DWI is still a top priority to all New York Law Enforcement Agencies.

New York State is recognized across the country as a leader in traffic safety. In particular the State is recognized for its continued progress in reducing the number of alcohol-related accidents and deaths. New York's STOP-DWI program was created in 1981 by the State Legislature. The program is financially elf-sustained and is funded entirely from the fines paid by convicted drunk drivers. The program has office in each of New York’s counties and empowers the counties to coordinate their own local efforts to combat impaired driving.

Labels: blood alcohol level, drunk driving, new york dui laws, ny driving laws

Thanks to a group of overly tanned twenty-somethings and a set of extremely toned abs, people across the United States are more familiar with the Jersey Shore than ever before. As portrayed on the shore, the Jersey Shore is known as the summer party spot for the twenty-something crowd in New Jersey and its surrounding states. Unfortunately, not all of those enjoying in the endless summer parties are of legal age.

Parents of underage children who may be traveling to the Jersey Shore's resort areas can rest a bit easier. New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow recently held a press conference in Wildwood, NJ to announce a major crackdown on underage drinking at the Jersey Shore.

Last summer, over 500 underage drinkers were arrested at the Jersey Shore. This year, the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Division of Highway Safety partnered to combat the underage drinking problem. Additionally, Dow is encouraging law enforcement officials to charge underage drinkers to the fullest extent of the law.

Currently, underage drinkers face steep fines and the loss of his or her driver’s license for 6 months if convicted. That’s right, in New Jersey underage drinking can lead to the loss of a driver's license even if you are not driving! Dow explained that charging underage drinkers to the fullest extent of the law will get their attention. She said, “Driving is a privilege. Take away that privilege and you’ll get people’s attention.”

The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control is sending the strong message that the consequences of underage drinking reach far beyond the legal ramifications. According to the division’s director, the division wants young people to be aware of the life-changing consequences that affect the drinker and all of the people whose lives may be affected by his or her drunken decisions.

The Division of Highway Traffic Safety also aims to combat a growing problem in New Jersey: drugged driving. According to the division’s director, Pam Fischer, that 28,705 people were arrested for driving while intoxicated in 2008 in New Jersey. Of those people charged, 2,938 of them were under the age of 21.

Fischer said, “While we continue to made steady progress in our fight to keep drunk drivers off of our roads, we still have a long way to go if we are to ensure that all drivers, add in particular our newest and youngest ones, remain safe.” Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 20. Young drivers are inexperienced and tend to have a false sense of confidence behind the wheel. When alcohol is incorporated into that scenario you have a recipe for disaster, especially in the summer months at the Jersey Shore.

Additional Articles to Prevent Underage Drinking:

How to Deal with Underage Drinking: Tips for Parents
Social Hosting: Underage Drinking

Labels: drunk driving, drunk driving laws, new york dui laws

New York City has become increasing safe for drivers in recent years. Only 256 traffic related deaths occurred in 2009, the lowest in city history. Approximately 10 percent of these deaths were caused by drunk drivers. While, lower than the national average of 32 percent, New York City officials find these statistics unacceptable.

New York City Department of Transportation knew that improving these statistics would take a different approach, than the drinking and driving campaign that had been running almost continuously since it was developed in 1983. This new program celebrates the cities designated drivers. Janette Sadik-Kahn, NYCDOT commissioner, explained that there are over 100,000 designated drivers in NYC. Taxi and livery car drives, bus drivers and train operators help to comprise this total. In spite of the abundance of designated drivers, "People will still drink and drive," explained Sadik-Kahn. "So, what we are trying to do is to really focus on celebrating each and every designated driver in the city."

The first-segment of the campaign is aimed at the demographic most likely to get behind the wheel impaired, males between 21 and 39 years of age. The major challenge in getting the message across is that, this particular demographic is also least likely to listen to or respond to a public service announcement. The slogan "You the Man" was derived to reward or celebrate the designated driver as opposed to punishing the drunk the driver. The NYCDOT said test results were positive for the slogan across racial and socioeconomic lines.

The Director of Strategic Communication, Dani Simons wanted to create a program that removed the barrier for people to drink and drive. Simons determined some of the reasons people drink and drive in New York City are to avoid waiting an hour a bus, the changes in weekend subway services, and to prevent walking around a possibly dangerous neighborhood late at night. One campaign objective was to find a way to combat these reasons. "You the Mans" find a ride feature does exactly that. The feature, enables anyone with a smart phone to type in their zip code and find the number of the nearest car service.

They took a different approach in the advertising for the campaign as well. They aligned drink and driving with embarrassing, regrettable drunken behavior. For example, many drivers can't relate to the consequences of drinking and driving. But, they can relate to waking up in the morning and being embarrassed over a drunken phone call or text message they sent. Who wouldn't want to have a sober friend around who could be the designated phone monitor? He would be the hero, or "the man" simply by preventing an action that would later be regrettable. The designated driver is viewed the same way. He's "the man" because he is preventing behavior that would be later be embarrassing and regrettable (never mind dangerous and possibly life-altering).

There is a Facebook page set up for the campaign, as well as a website (http://youthemannyc.org/) video portraying the designated driver as the hero of a successful night out. They are also running internet ads on Evite, Club Planet and Google searches for bars and clubs. Additionally, there are ads running on local radio stations Thursday through Saturday from 5-9pm.

The campaign kicked off Super Bowl Weekend. One of the sponsors of the campaign is Heineken. Heineken teamed up with the NYCDOT to promote the campaign by designing coasters and distributing them to bars. One side of the coaster read, "You the Man" the other side read, "Be the man. Be the designated driver." This is an extremely targeted campaign to reach the targeted demographic where they live. The entire campaign is being executed with a budget of less than $1 million.

Labels: driver safety, drunk driving, traffic safety