U.S. Transportation Secretary Mineta Unveils $11 Million Campaign to Reduce Drinking and Driving

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mineta Unveils $11 Million Campaign to Reduce Drinking and Driving

Topics: Norman Y. Mineta

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mineta Unveils $11 Million Campaign to Reduce Drinking and Driving

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
June 19, 2003

NHTSA 27-03
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Contact: Kathryn Henry
Telephone: (202) 366-9550

With alcohol-related fatalities on the rise for the third year, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today unveiled the first ever You Drink & Drive. You Lose. advertising campaign. The $11 million campaign will air nationwide in support of a nationwide July 4th holiday enforcement crackdown on alcohol-impaired driving.

The ads, in both Spanish and English, will run June 20-July 13 on national programs primarily viewed by 21-34 year-old males, the demographic group most likely to drive impaired. The ads focus on the consequences violators will face for driving while impaired by alcohol - they will be arrested. This is the first time the enforcement crackdown will be supported by a national advertising effort.

"Ensuring the safety of all Americans is my highest priority," Secretary Mineta said. "Every year almost 18,000 people die because of drinking and driving, so our message is simple: if you drink and drive, you lose. Today we're putting drunk drivers on notice: If we catch you drinking and driving, we will arrest you and prosecute you."

Americans support tougher enforcement and penalties for drinking and driving. According to a 2001 Gallup Organization national survey of the nation's driving age population:

97 percent of Americans view alcohol-impaired driving as a threat to their families and themselves;
An estimated 1 billion driving trips are made per year by drinking-drivers, that is, those driving within two hours after drinking;
A majority of those surveyed (62 percent) felt that sobriety checkpoints should be used more frequently; and
71 percent felt that drinking-driving penalties should be more severe than they are now.

This year's campaign will be carried out by tens of thousands of officers from law enforcement agencies in all 50 states. Thirteen states have been identified to receive additional advertising and promotional support because of their high alcohol-related fatality numbers or crash rates,. These states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia.

"Leveraging resources in these states will achieve the greatest benefit for the country in lowering the number of alcohol-related fatalities," said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D. "I commend them for taking a leadership role in helping to reduce fatalities nationwide."

After years of gradual improvement between the 1980's and 1990's, fatalities in alcohol-related crashes began to rise in 1999. In 2002, alcohol-related crashes killed 17,970 people, the most fatalities since 1992.

"The increase in alcohol-related traffic deaths is a national tragedy, playing out with another senseless death every 30 minutes, day after day," said MADD President Wendy J. Hamilton. "It's time for Americans to `Get MADD All Over Again' when it comes to drunk driving.

Because of the millions of people expected on America's highways during the start of the summer holiday period, the number of impaired driving fatalities has historically increased during this period. NHTSA estimates that 560 people will die over the 4th of July holiday weekend, with more than half (55 percent) alcohol-related.

"Law enforcement is absolutely committed to catching and prosecuting those who choose to drive impaired during this crackdown," said Joseph Samuels Jr., President, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and Chief, Richmond, CA, Police Department. "It's simply not worth the risk of facing high fines and court costs, imprisonment, or assault and vehicular manslaughter charges."

The "You Drink & Drive. You Lose." national campaign is a comprehensive impaired driving prevention effort focused on highly visible criminal justice-related efforts to deter impaired driving and is designed for use by States and communities to save lives. For more information on the "You Drink & Drive. You Lose." national crackdown and campaign, visit NHTSA's website at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/.

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