‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ Campaign, Aug. 17–Sept. 3

Labor Day holiday has become one of the deadliest, with drunk drivers endangering themselves and others on their way home from these holiday festivities. To get drunk drivers off the roads and help save lives, Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT), together with the National Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will launch the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over national enforcement campaign, which will run from Aug.17, through Sept. 3, 2018.

DUI Campaign ramps up. Courtesy photo.

The 2018 Labor Day weekend starts on Friday, Aug. 31, and ends on Monday, Sept. 3. Over the 2016 Labor Day holiday period there were 433 crash fatalities nationwide. Of the fatal crashes, more than one-third (36%) involved drivers who were drunk (.08+ blood alcohol concentration [BAC]), and one-fourth (25%) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the legal limit (.15+ BAC). Age is a particularly risky factor: Among the drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday period in 2016, 47% of those fatalities involved drunk drivers with BACs of .08 or higher.

Drivers should expect to see more patrol vehicles and sobriety checkpoints during this high-visibility campaign, so make sure you obey the law: Don’t drink and drive, and don’t let your friends do it, either. It is essential to plan a sober ride home before you ever leave for the party. Remember that during the Labor Day holiday, officers will make zero exceptions for drunk driving. But keep in mind that impaired driving enforcement is conducted year round, not just during this enforcement campaign. Every week throughout the year, police statewide conduct sobriety checkpoints.

National Facts and Statistics:

• In fatal crashes during the month of August over the five-year period of 2012-2016, almost 10% of the drunk drivers involved, with a BAC of .08 or higher, had one or more previous convictions for drunk driving.
• Among the drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday period in 2016, 47 percent of those fatalities involved drunk drivers with BACs of .08 or higher.
• In 2016, almost one in five children (14 and younger) killed in traffic crashes were killed in drunk-driving crashes. Fifty-four percent of the time, it was the child’s own driver who was drunk.
• It is illegal to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher in all 50 States and the District of Columbia—no exceptions.
• According to NHTSA, 10,497 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2016. On average, 10,000 people were killed each year from 2012 to 2016—one person killed every 50 minutes in 2016. That’s the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing each year, with no survivors.

Financial Impacts:

• On average, a DUI can set you back $10,000 in attorney fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work, higher insurance rates, car towing and repairs, and more.
• The financial impact from impaired-driving crashes can be devastating: based on 2010 numbers (the most recent year for which cost data is available), impaired-driving crashes cost the United States $44 billion annually.

Plan Before You Party:

• Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve had only one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation or a ride sharing service to get home safely.
• Always have a plan for a safe way home before the celebrations begin.
• Do not forget to designate a sober driver or use public transportation to get home safely.
• Download NHTSA’s SaferRide mobile app available on Google Play for Android devices and Apple’s ITunes Store for IOS devices. SaferRide allows users to call a taxi or a predetermined friend, and identifies the user’s location so he or she can be picked up.

Important Things to Remember:

• Be a responsible citizen—if you know someone who is about to drive or ride after drinking, take the keys and help them get safely to their destination by making the necessary arrangements.
• Do not forget that while you’re out celebrating this Labor Day, you could lose everything, if you choose to drink and drive. Not only would you be risking your life and the lives of others—you could face a DUI arrest. The average DUI costs $10,000, making it difficult to recover financially.
• And the financial responsibility doesn’t end there. Arrested drunk drivers face jail time, the loss of their driver licenses, higher insurance rates, and dozens of other hefty expenses, from car towing and repairs to attorney fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work, and more.