FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2001
CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755

SCDPS ANNOUNCES DECEMBER AS NATIONAL DRUNK AND DRUGGED DRIVING PREVENTION MONTH

COLUMBIA - The South Carolina Department of Public Safety announces that in recognition of December as National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month, it will join the national effort to try to reduce impaired driving this holiday season.

"Impaired driving is no accident-it’s a crime that kills someone every 33 minutes," said DPS Director Boykin Rose. "Last year in South Carolina, 170 people died and nearly 4,000 more were injured in traffic collisions where the probable cause was alcohol and/or drugs."

The December holidays are traditionally one of the deadliest times of the year on our nation’s highways, and impaired driving is a big part of the problem. The purpose of 3D Prevention Month is to alert the public of the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

As part of National 3D Prevention Month, December 21 is designated as Lights on for Life Day. DPS encourages all motorists to drive with their headlights on all day in remembrance of those killed by impaired drivers and also as a commitment not to drink and drive this holiday season.

The Highway Patrol will step up their enforcement efforts December 21 through December 23 as part of the National Holiday Lifesavers Mobilization. Throughout that weekend law enforcement agencies across the nation will be conducting saturation patrols and public safety checkpoints in an effort to detect and arrest impaired drivers.

"All too often people will do something they know is wrong, like drinking and driving, if they believe they will not be caught," Rose said. "But the Highway Patrol is committed to removing impaired drivers from our highways. Our troopers will be out there on the roads in full force, and they will catch you if you make the mistake of driving while impaired."

The National Holiday Lifesavers Mobilization is sponsored by the national You Drink and Drive. You Lose. campaign. The campaign, launched in December 1999, is a partnership of criminal justice and traffic safety partners in all 50 states committed to reducing deaths from impaired driving. The National 3D Prevention Month Coalition is a public-private partnership founded in 1991 and devoted to preventing impaired driving crashes.

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