"Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" Campaign Gets Kudos

WASHINGTON--Aug. 17, 2011: The following is attributable to Alliance Vice President, Safety & Harmonization Rob Strassburger:

The Alliance commends law enforcement agencies, national and state traffic safety officials and others across the country that are carrying out the intensive high-visibility "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" mobilization from August 19 through September 5.  High-visibility enforcement campaigns like this are essential components of effective drunk driving prevention programs.

High-visibility crackdowns are also a key element of MADD's three-pronged Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, which the Alliance supports.  The Campaign also calls for enactment of all-offender state ignition interlock laws and research on advanced alcohol detection technology to prevent drunk drivers from operating vehicles.

Drunk driving is not an accident - it is a preventable crime that in 2009 alone resulted in 10,839 fatalities, nearly a third of the total vehicle traffic crash fatalities.