DUI
Crackdown Focus of statewide labor day Initiative
SCDPS unveils new TV
commercial that encourages public to report
suspected drunk drivers and highlights personal consequences of impaired driving
FOR IMME
August 16, 2010
Contact: Sid Gaulden, 803-896-8409; Beverly
Harris, 803-896-9958
COLUMBIA –
Motorists who choose to drive while intoxicated during the weeks leading up to
the Labor Day holiday will be the focus of an intense statewide crackdown on
impaired driving by the SC Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) and local law
enforcement agencies.
Drunk driving remains a leading cause of deaths on
“DUI is an epidemic,” SCDPS Director Mark Keel
told a group of law enforcement officials who gathered in
Representatives of the SC Law Enforcement Network
received an update on the status of
As of midnight August 15, 2010, there have 136
fatalities in the first 77 days of the 100 Deadly Days of Summer, Keel noted.
That compares to 223 fatalities in the same number of days in 2009. That
reduction equates to a 39 percent decrease in highway fatalities from a similar
time frame from last year.
“DUI is a careless disregard for human life. DUI
is a crime,” Keel told the officers. “And we can all be crime fighters; not just
men and women in uniform. Concerned citizens who call *HP to report a drunk
drivers are fighting crime, just as a sober person who says to an intoxicated
friend, ‘I’ll take the keys tonight.’”
The SC Highway Patrol has made 9,535 arrests so
far this year for driving under the influence – a 17 percent increase over the
previous year and a 41 percent increase compared to this time in 2008. In
addition to Patrol’s DUI arrest numbers, data received through July 31, 2010
from SC Law Enforcement Network (SCLEN) reporting agencies indicates that local
law enforcement agencies participating in the SCLEN statewide have made 7,199
DUI arrests.
Highway Patrol Col. Kenny Lancaster, Jr. pointed
to several reasons people are more likely now to get caught driving impaired: an
enforcement focus on areas leading away from bars and other establishments
serving predominantly alcoholic beverages; the creation of a 30-member DUI team
focused solely on impaired driving; frequent special enforcement initiatives
with the SCLEN and other local agencies; and getting the public involved in
looking out for impaired driving behaviors.
“I believe when you involve people and give them
the tools to make their communities and roadways safer – such as *HP – they feel
a sense of partnership and duty,”
SC Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) Colonel
Alvin Taylor echoed SCDPS’ concerns regarding boating tragedies associated with
alcohol consumption. SCDNR is partnering with SCDPS during the 100 Deadly Days
of Summer to reduce the occurrences of boating under the influence (BUI) and its
subsequent contribution to DUI violations.
Officers in attendance at the meeting also viewed
a new TV commercial that will support the DUI enforcement efforts. The
commercial begins airing Wednesday on South Carolina TV stations, in advance of
the end-of-summer Sober or Slammer!
DUI enforcement blitz that starts Friday.
“Even if you beat the odds and survive an
impaired-driving crash,” Keel said, “be aware that the consequences of driving
drunk can still place a heavy burden – financially and otherwise – on you and
your family.”
That is the message behind the latest anti-DUI
commercial by SCDPS. Produced by the agency’s public relations firm, Fisher
Communications, the 60-second commercial is a dramatic telling of a DUI arrest
and how citizens might aid law enforcement in DUI apprehension efforts. The ad
encourages the public to report suspected drunk drivers by calling *HP (*47) and
illustrates how a call to the Highway Patrol dispatch center leads to an arrest.
The commercial builds upon the “Call *HP (*47)”
billboards that are posted around the state and feature the face of a state
trooper.
In addition to the new commercial
and billboards, SCDPS will use the SC Department of
Transportation’s variable message boards to remind motorists of the DUI
crackdown. The boards also were used during this summer’s safety belt campaign
that ended with a record-setting safety belt usage rate of 85.4 percent. This is
the first time
“Our partnership with the SCDPS has raised public
awareness of highway safety issues and has, we feel, contributed to these
roadway successes,” SC Department of Transportation Secretary H. B. Limehouse
said.
The previous state record for safety belt use of
81.5 percent was set last year when the total number of fatalities fell below
900 for the first time since 1995. Highway safety officials hope the new
record-setting usage rate will result in an even deeper drop in traffic deaths
this year. Fatality reductions year-to-date for 2010 are currently hovering
around 19 percent fewer than those experienced in 2009. As of August 15, 2010,
preliminary statistics show
“It’s no secret that safety belts save lives,”
Keel said. “In fact, a safety belt is your first and best defense against the
reckless behavior of a drunk driver. So buckle up, drive responsibly, report
drunk drivers by calling *HP and we’ll do our part.”
SCDPS’ Sober
or Slammer! campaign is part of the national
Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. crackdown led by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and includes state and local law
enforcement agencies across the country. The campaign combines high-visibility
enforcement with heightened public awareness through advertising and publicity.
SCDPS includes the Highway Patrol, Office of
Highway Safety, State Transport Police, Bureau of Protective Services and Office
of Justice Programs. The agency’s mission is to ensure public safety by
protecting and serving
BH/45/10
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