an article for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation quarterly newsletter
by genevieve vahl
Wisconsin’s law enforcement agencies and traffic safety coordinators will again partner this summer and fall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for its annual campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, an initiative to bring awareness to help lower the drunk driving epidemic.
The Drive Sober campaign is gaining momentum. Last year, 244 law enforcement agencies participated in the effort in Wisconsin alone. The campaign will emphasize encouraging drivers to have a plan to get home safely if they’re going somewhere where they might become impaired.
The NHTSA reports, on average, over a 10-year period from 2006-2016, more than 10,000 people die every year in drunk driving crashes. Specifically, 10,874 people died from drunk driving crashes in 2017, making up 29% of motor vehicle traffic fatalities. In Wisconsin in 2018, preliminary numbers show 159 people died and more than 3,200 were injured in alcohol-related crashes in Wisconsin.
Data shows that if you drive impaired in Wisconsin, you’ll be convicted. In 2017, there were more than 24,200 Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) convictions in Wisconsin, and the statewide conviction rate for impaired driving is 94%.
The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign works in two parts — an awareness campaign to ensure people know the consequences of potentially fatal actions will be followed by an increased enforcement period from Aug. 16 through Sept. 2. This 18-day span will capture the Labor Day holiday weekend, a particularly dangerous time for drunk-driving incidents. Over the Labor Day weekend in 2017, 376 people were killed in crashes, and 44% involved drivers who had been drinking, according to the NHTSA.
The NHTSA makes Drive Sober resources available to traffic safety coordinators and law enforcement agencies nationwide. Elements of the awareness campaign include stories of victims and families directly impacted by drunk driving, like Philip Lutzenkirchen, the tight end for Auburn University who died in a fatal alcohol related crash in 2014, to bring human emotion and relatability into the campaign.
Lutzenkirchen had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.377 at the time of his death, more than four times the legal limit for operating a vehicle. His family, astonished by this news, took it as an opportunity to use Phillip’s story to impact others by starting a foundation to speak to people about the perils of drunk driving. Philip’s father Mike wants kids to “learn from [his] son so that [they’re] not in the position that [their] family’s in because of poor decisions.”
Philip’s sister Abby Lutzenkirchen speaks level-mindedly on the loss of her older brother. “It’s hard to have someone you look up to make such a big mistake, and someone that you really care about make that mistake. But I think it just proves that everyone’s human, no matter how invincible that you think that they are.”
The NHTSA’s resources include a number of statistics, which aim to shock drivers by illustrating the detrimental social effects of drunk driving. The website also goes through various “Risky Driving” scenarios, such as drug-impaired driving and distracted driving, and includes details about the potential economic consequences associated with drunk driving: Offenders could pay as much as $10,000 in attorney fees, fines, car towing, repairs, higher insurance rates and lost time at work.
A second Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement period will run from Dec. 13 through Jan. 1, 2020, to capture the drunk driving activity during the end-of-the-year holiday season. Over a five-year period, almost 4,000 people died in drunk driving crashes during December alone.
An emerging problem for law enforcement agencies, including Wisconsin, is the effect of drug-impaired drivers; starting in 2020, neighboring Illinois will allow recreational use of marijuana. The national campaign reminds drivers it’s illegal to operate a vehicle while impaired by any substance. “If you feel different, you drive different,” the campaign says.
To conclude the campaign, the NHTSA has drafted a responsibility plan rooted in simple, layman’s terms: “Being responsible is easy — if you have been drinking or have taken mind-altering drugs, do not drive.”
Federal funds will pay for national print, television and social media advertisements, including those to run in Wisconsin, that will bring attention to the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign. Law enforcement officials and traffic safety coordinators are also encouraged to help raise awareness about the effects of impaired driving and the campaign, such as contacting local media with a press release or letter to the editor. Here are some recommendations that could reduce drunk driving and increase safety on the roads:
- Have a plan to get home safely — work out a ride with a sober friend or plan ahead to use public transportation or a safe ride.
- Download NHTSA’s SafeRide mobile app to use a local safe-ride service (available through the Apple iTunes Store and Google Play).
- Report any suspicious drivers to law enforcement.
- Take the keys away from a friend who is about to drink and drive and help that friend find another way to get home.
For more information and resources for your area’s Drive Sober awareness and enforcement efforts, visit one.nhtsa.gov/drivesober. If you are a law enforcement agency in Wisconsin, sign up to participate in the effort by logging in to WIse-Grants (at wigrants.gov) and viewing available opportunities.
genevieve vahl 