South Carolina Department of Public Safety_______
December 11, 2008
SCDPS CONTACTS:
SID GAULDEN, 803-600-8119
BEVERLY
HARRIS, Office of Highway Safety, 803-896-9958
SGT. R.K.
HUGHES, Highway Patrol, (803) 530-1664
SCDPS, local agencies kick off Christmas/New YEar’s dui campaign
BLYTHEWOOD
– The South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) and local
law enforcement agencies statewide announced plans today to combine efforts to
combat impaired driving during the Sober or
Slammer! Christmas/New Year’s DUI crackdown, from December 12 to
January 1.
Local
agencies joined SCDPS on Thursday to inform the public about enforcement efforts
as part of the Sober or Slammer!
campaign that SCDPS coordinates. To illustrate the legal and personal
consequences of drinking and driving around the state, simultaneous news
conferences were conducted at city jails and county detention centers in
More than
160 local agencies across the state are participating in
Sober or Slammer! activities, along
with SCDPS’ Highway Patrol and State Transport Police. The goal of the campaign
is to lower the number of alcohol-related crashes and fatalities and increase
compliance with the state’s DUI laws.
During the
Christmas/New Year’s holiday period that ran from December 14, 2007 to January
1, 2008, 26 people were killed in DUI-related crashes.
“Driving
under the influence continues to be a major problem in
While
preliminary data shows overall traffic fatalities are down this year compared to
last, the percentage of DUI-related fatalities is higher.
As of
December 7, 420 of the 843 reported traffic fatalities in
Sober or Slammer!
efforts throughout
As part of
SCDPS’ efforts to inform the public about the
Sober or Slammer! campaign
and the consequences of driving while impaired, the agency is reissuing a TV
commercial created as part of the popular
Highways or Dieways campaign. In addition, the agency is airing two
spots created this year that feature comments from drivers taken
during a 2007 study that focused on the reasons people drink and drive. The
comments are spoken by actors, but the troopers, sheriff deputies and police
officers featured in the commercial are actual law enforcement personnel.
The TV spots open with a South Carolina Highway
Patrol Trooper introducing comments from the research study, including:
After a series of actors speak the responses, the
camera transitions to a local law enforcement officer telling the viewing
audience, “If that’s your attitude, we’ll be seeing you soon.” The spot closes
as the view widens to a crowd shot of local and state officers and their
vehicles.
One of the spots ran during the Labor Day DUI
enforcement blitz.
The verbatim comments featured in the TV spots
corresponded to key themes the researchers found. After drinking, many
respondents thought that not driving would create a hassle for themselves or
others, while others exhibited sheer arrogance about their ability to drive
after drinking and some simply liked the idea of defying the law.
By
highlighting the actual responses of real motorists, SCDPS hopes people will
either see themselves in the comments or be outraged – and motivated to drive
responsibly.
“We use the
slogan, ‘Highways or Dieways? The Choice is Yours’ to emphasize to the motoring
public that the choices you make behind the wheel affect other people, too,”
Keel said. “Driving while intoxicated can have very serious consequences – jail,
injury or even death. During this DUI campaign, we will bring that message home
to drivers who ignore the laws of this state.”
In
partnership with SCDPS, the SC Department of Transportation will allow
use of its electronic message boards on highways around the state to display a
DUI enforcement message. Overhead and portable message boards are scheduled to
display “Statewide DUI Crackdown in Progress.”