11/12/2013
ITD partners with local communities to end impaired driving
BOISE – A pilot initiative to end impaired driving in Blackfoot, Lewiston and Twin Falls was recently launched by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). The effort, called Courageous Voices, encourages everyone to get involved by stepping up and speaking out to stop people from drinking and driving.
Between 2010-2012, more than 40 percent of all fatal vehicle crashes in Idaho involved impaired drivers.
“There are only two choices for people who have been drinking: they can stay where they are or ride with someone who has not been drinking,” said ITD Highway Safety Manager Brent Jennings. “And if people decide to drink and drive, we need to call 911 – for their own safety and the safety of everyone else.”
A recent survey of over 1,400 people in the three communities revealed that more than nine out of 10 adults strongly agreed that impaired driving is wrong and that most adults, 85 percent, do not drive after drinking alcohol. The community survey showed also strong support for a number of strategies proven to reduce impaired driving.
Most adults in the three communities, 76 percent, agreed that they should try and prevent a stranger from driving after drinking enough alcohol to be impaired; 84 percent agreed that employees at establishments where alcohol is consumed should try and prevent drinking and driving; and, 85 percent strongly agreed that local law enforcement should strongly enforce drinking and driving laws.
ITD will work with local coalitions in each of the three communities.
“We have come a long way in addressing drinking and driving; it is time we simply put an end to this very dangerous behavior,” said Jennings.