The Chattanooga Police Department is partnering with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to stop drunk drivers and help save lives. The high-visibility national enforcement campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, runs from Aug. 16 through Sept. 4.
"Increased state and national messages about the dangers of driving impaired, coupled with enforcement and increased officers on the road, aim to drastically reduce drunk driving on our nation’s roadways," officials said. "Statistics show a frightening trend in drunk driving. According to NHTSA, 10,265 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2015, an increase from the 9,967 people killed in 2014. On average, 10,000 people were killed each year from 2011 to 2015 - one person killed every 51 minutes in 2015. That’s the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing each year, with no survivors. This is why CPD is working with NHTSA to remind drivers that drunk driving is not only illegal, it is a matter of life and death.
"As you head out to Labor Day festivities, remember: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. Over the Labor Day holiday period in 2015, there were 460 crash fatalities nationwide. Forty percent of those fatal crashes involved drivers who had been drinking (.01+ BAC). Of those alcohol-related fatal crashes, one third (33 percent) involved drivers who were drunk (.08+ BAC), and nearly one-fourth (23 percent) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the illegal limit (.15+ BAC).
"Nighttime is the most dangerous time to be out on the roads. During the 2015 Labor Day holiday period, 78 percent of drunk-driving crash fatalities occurred between 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. – as compared to half of all drunk-driving crash fatalities throughout the rest of the year."
“We’re stressing the dangers of driving impaired to our community,” said CPD Lt. Austin Garrett. "If you’re on the roads and you see someone driving drunk, please call 911. You could help save a life.”
CPD recommends safe alternatives to drinking and driving:
• Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve had one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation to get home safely.
• Download NHTSA’s SaferRide mobile app. SaferRide allows users to call a taxi or a predetermined friend, and identifies the user’s location so he or she can be picked up.
- Google Play for Android devices: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nhtsa.SaferRide&hl=en
- Apple’s iTunes Store for IOS devices: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/saferride/id950774008?mt=8
• If you see a drunk driver on the road, call 911.
• Have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get your friend home safely.
For more information about the THSO, visit www.tntrafficsafety.org.