South Carolina Department of Public Safety_______

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 22, 2009

CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-600-8119; BEVERLY HARRIS, 803-896-9958

SUmmEr dui campaign MiXES ENFORCEMENT, AWARENESS

Billboards, gas pumps, citation holders will feature people killed by drunk drivers; public service announcements to run in movie theaters

COLUMBIA – Imagine getting stopped by a South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper and receiving a citation tucked into a folder showing the faces of people killed by drunk drivers. If it makes you think twice about driving after having a few drinks, then you got the message.

The citation holders are part of an enforcement and education campaign by the SC Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) to lower DUI injuries and fatalities. The citation holders will be issued during traffic stops by troopers and local law enforcement officers. The citation holders feature victims who also will appear on billboards and on pumps at gas stations around the state.

SCDPS’ Office of Highway Safety is coordinating the summer-long, statewide public information and education campaign to highlight the tragic results of DUI. The campaign also will include public service commercials on TV and in movie theaters. In addition, radio commercials will air during designated weekend DUI enforcement blitzes.

“Whether it’s driving around, fueling up, watching TV at home or catching a movie, the public will get the message this summer that driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a serious offense with serious consequences,” said Mark Keel, Director of SCDPS.

The DUI campaign takes place during the 100 Deadly Days of Summer – the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when traffic collisions and deaths traditionally spike in South Carolina. Many traffic deaths that occur over the Fourth of July holiday, for example, are generally DUI-related.

In 2008, 426 people were killed in DUI-related collisions in South Carolina. While the state raised the safety belt usage rate to a record 79 percent last year, lowering the incidence of DUI continues to be a concern for law enforcement and other highway safety advocates.

“We hope this summer’s public information campaign goes a long way in changing the way people think about drinking and driving,” said Phil Riley, Director of the Office of Highway Safety. “Education coupled with enforcement can make a difference.”

Radio spots featuring SC Highway Patrol troopers will air on English- and Spanish-speaking radio and run in conjunction with law enforcement DUI crackdown weekends scheduled during the summer months.

“South Carolina ranks second in the nation for DUI deaths,” said Highway Patrol Col. F.K. Lancaster Jr. “We are addressing this problem from every angle – from public education to specialized enforcement.”

Billboards posted this summer will each feature a photograph of a DUI fatality victim with his or her biographical information. For example, one billboard shows the face of a young woman and states:  “Real people are killed by drunk drivers in SC. Kia is one of them. Kia Waters, Age 25, Irmo.”

Other victims featured on the billboards are:

Sullivan Spradley, 5, Ridgeway; Ashton Grooms, 15, Brandon Batchelor, 13, and Drew Batchelor, 11, all of North Augusta; Kimberly Hobbs, 16, and Kenny Encinas, 18, both of Rock Hill; Charlene Dewitt, 22, Orangeburg; Martin Mingo, 28, Cayce; Donna Richardson, 39, Myrtle Beach; and James Hemingway Sr., 59, Longs.

“There’s a reason the messaging says ‘real people,’” Keel said. “More than 400 people are killed by drunk drivers each year in South Carolina.  These folks are not just statistics. They’re the real people, the real faces behind the devastation of drunk driving – a crime that is entirely preventable if people who choose to drink just do the right thing and choose not to drive.”

Signs on gas pumps at stations will feature the same messaging as the billboards and complement the citation holders.

The anti-DUI commercials that will air on TV and in movie theaters are a mix of commercials first created as part of the popular Highways or Dieways campaign and new spots that highlight comments from South Carolina drivers taken during a 2007 study that focused on the reasons people drink and drive.

The campaign also will include surveys to gauge public awareness of, and reaction to, anti-DUI messaging.

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