The American Beverage Institute Comments on 'You Drink & Drive. You Lose.' Messages

Enforcement, Not Scare Campaigns Are the Proven Solution to Nation's Drunk Driving Problem

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 -- Today The American Beverage Institute (ABI) applauded the national drop in alcohol-related fatalities, and the many dedicated law enforcement officials who have saved lives with their untiring efforts to arrest drunk drivers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) correctly attributed this drop to stellar law enforcement efforts, yet continues to promote elements of its "You Drink & Drive. You Lose." campaign -- such as zero tolerance messages and roadblocks -- that undermine effective law enforcement by targeting responsible adults instead of drunk drivers.

"The very name of the program, 'You Drink & Drive. You Lose.', is misleading," said ABI executive director John Doyle. "It is legal and socially acceptable in every state to drink responsibly before driving. By focusing scarce law enforcement resources and political clout on the tens of millions of responsible adults who drive safely, the government is diluting efforts to get drunks off the road."

NHTSA has long known and publicly acknowledged that roadblocks are PR mechanisms, and not designed to apprehend drunk drivers. NHTSA's drunk driving czar, Dr. Jeffrey Michael, said that with roadblocks, "you aren't trying to arrest a lot of people." Yet it is these arrests that save lives.

In contrast, roving patrols -- utilized by every state that have experienced decreases in alcohol-related fatalities -- have a proven and well- documented history of catching drunk drivers. A landmark NHTSA study found that "the number of DWI arrests made by the roving patrol program was nearly three times the average number of DWIs made by the checkpoint programs" and concluded, "If making a large number of DWI arrests is an objective of a program, [the data] clearly suggests that roving patrols would be the preferred option."

"To continue the progress we're making, we need to focus our resources on programs that work," Doyle said. "The evidence is clear: roving patrols and other campaigns that target drunk drivers are the way to save lives. Any effort that focuses on responsible adults is an anti-alcohol campaign, not a highway safety campaign."

The American Beverage Institute is an association of restaurants committed to the responsible serving of adult beverages. To learn more visit: http://www.americanbeverageinstitute.com/.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For further information or to arrange an interview please call Mike Burita at 202-463-7110.