NHTSA Campaign to Renew Drunk Driving Awareness
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is running a campaign from August 19 through September 7, 2020, which is aimed at bringing renewed awareness to the dangers of drunk, buzzed, and otherwise impaired driving. The drunk driving awareness campaign utilizes a two-pronged approach – one part focusing on law enforcement and the other aimed at targeting social norms.
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over is the part of the campaign that focuses on law enforcement and their goal of stopping drunk drivers before they cause accidents. This part of the campaign highlights the police presence which is constantly on the lookout for drunk drivers. The enforcement portion of the campaign is viewed as a method of deterring people from drinking and driving.
The second aspect of the campaign is called Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving, and its goal is to remind drivers that even one drink could be one too many. If you plan on drinking at all, you should make alternate travel plans that ensure that at the end of your celebration, you will not get behind the wheel. Even minimal amounts of alcohol can impact the ability of a driver to safely navigate the roads.
The campaign will include paid advertising, which will run on radio stations, television, and on several social media platforms. There will also be enforcement campaigns in high-visibility areas along the nation’s roadways and presented throughout state and local law enforcement departments.
Drunk Driving in the United States
- More than 10,000 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in 2018.
- Approximately thirty-three percent of all traffic accident fatalities in the United States involve impaired drivers.
- In 2018, twenty-two percent of traffic fatalities that involved children aged 14 and younger involved drunk drivers.
- Drunk driving crashes more often involve male drivers versus females.
- Statistics for 2018 indicate that during that year, fatal crashes involving motorcycles included more instances of alcohol intoxication than any other category of accident or driver.
Road Rules Still Apply
News outlets say that alcohol sales have increased during the pandemic. At the same time, highway traffic still has not reached pre-COVID-19 volumes. Law enforcement is concerned that the combination of those two circumstances may lead to more instances of drinking and driving. The concern is especially heightened now that people are beginning to mingle at outdoor gatherings, and restaurants are now open and able to serve food and alcoholic beverages outdoors. The drunk driving awareness campaign seeks to remind drivers that despite all that has changed recently, the danger and illegality of drunk driving remain the same.
This is not the first time NHTSA has fronted a buzzed driving campaign. Watch the YouTube video below to see one of their ads from a few years ago.
Sacramento Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer. Drunk or otherwise impaired driving can and often does cause devastating accidents. There are special legal circumstances to consider if you are involved in an automobile accident caused by a drunk driver, that an experienced lawyer will be aware of. You may be due monetary compensation for your injuries, and any wage loss you may have incurred. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in an accident involving a drunk driver, call me at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for free, friendly advice.
For nearly four decades, I have worked tirelessly to help injured Sacramentans navigate their personal injury cases, many of which involved traffic accidents as well as wrongful deaths and traumatic injuries.
At the following sites, you can read reviews of our services written by prior clients and also research some of our successful case outcomes:
We are proud members of the following legal associations:
Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the National Association of Distinguished Counsel.
Photo by: https://pixabay.com/photos/drinks-alcohol-cocktails-alcoholic-2578446/
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