MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING A MONTHLY EMAIL NEWSLETTER MINNESOTA, NORTH DAKOTA, & SOUTH DAKOTA REGION
AUGUST 2023 • ISSUE 6 • VOLUME 1
SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is working alongside Local Law Enforcement agencies across the nation during the weeks leading up to, and including, the Labor Day holiday in support of the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over high-visibility enforcement drunk-driving prevention campaign. Law enforcement will be expanding their efforts with zero tolerance for impaired driving. The goal is to save lives during what is usually a dangerous holiday on our nation’s roads. As you celebrate the summer slowdown this year, keep these statistics in mind.
NHTSA's Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, long supported by MADD, helps fund increased impaired driving enforcement, sobriety checkpoints and anti-drunk driving advertising during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Monthly sobriety checkpoints are designed to encourage sober driving to keep everyone safe within our communities. A study found sobriety checkpoints to be associated with a 20-26% decrease in fatal crashes and a 20% decrease in total crashes (Shults et al. 2001; Elder et al. 2022).
Labor Day Statistics
During the 2021 Labor Day holiday period (6 p.m. September 3rd-5:59 a.m. September 7), there were 531 crash fatalities nationwide. Of these 531 traffic crash fatalities, 41% (216) involved a drunk driver, and more than a quarter (27%) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the legal limit (.15+ BAC). Among drivers between the ages of 18 and 34, who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday period in 2021, 46% of those drivers were drunk, with BACs of .08 or higher. Historically, the summer months tend to be more dangerous on the roads. in August 2021, drunk driving accounted for 31% of traffic crash fatalities.
UPCOMING EVENT! WALK LIKE MADD SEPTEMBER 16th We hope that you will rally with us in
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
One of the deadliest and most often committed - yet preventable - of crimes (impaired driving), has become a serious safety epidemic in our country.
However, you can make a difference!
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PLAN AHEAD FOR A SAFE CELEBRATION
Always drive 100% sober. Even one alcoholic beverage could be one too many.
Plan ahead: Before you have even one drink, designate a sober driver to get you home safely. If you wait until you’ve been drinking to make this decision, you might not make the best one. You have options to get home safely: designate a sober driver or call a taxi or rideshare. Getting home safely is always worth it. Some communities even have a sober ride program
If it’s your turn to be the designated driver, take your job seriously and don’t drink.
If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact your local law enforcement agency.
If you have a friend who is about to drink and drive, take the keys away and let a sober driver get your friend home safely. The 2023 impaired driving national enforcement mobilization "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" goes into effect across the country from August 16th to September 4th.
VICTIM SERVICES CONTACTS
Northern Region Minnesota Courtni Peterson 651.523.0802 ext.2757 courtni.peterson@madd.org Southern Region Minnesota Hayli Littlehead 651.523.0802 ext.2760 hayli.littlehead@madd.org South Dakota Rachel Martens 605.309.3942 ext. 2752 rachel.martens@madd.org
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