3/3/2016
Coeur d’Alene tow truck company encourages sober driving with rolling display
BOISE -- The consequences of an impaired driving crash will be on
display March 11-12 in Coeur d’Alene when Schaffer’s Towing will transport a
crashed car around the area to help raise awareness about making safe choices
when celebrations and activities involve drinking.
The tow truck operator’s flatbed truck will travel around
Coeur d’Alene on Friday and Saturday displaying a crashed vehicle with signs on
each side of the bed encouraging and reminding local motorists to always drive
sober.
Tow truck operators in Boise and Twin Falls will participate in similar volunteer efforts during March, said Mary Burke, with the Idaho Transportation Department’s Office of Highway Safety.
“This campaign will help people to visualize the dangers of
impaired drinking or any unsafe driving behavior,“ she said.
Statewide, a St. Patrick’s Day high-visibility education and
enforcement campaign targeting impaired driving will be held March 12-20.
ITD’s Office of Highway Safety works to reduce deaths and
serious injuries from traffic crashes by discouraging dangerous driving
behaviors through education activities and supporting law enforcement
campaigns.
Burke encourages people to always have a plan if activities
involve drinking:
- Whenever alcohol will be consumed, designate a sober driver before going out and give that person the car keys.
- If impaired, call a taxi, sober friend or family member to get home safely.
- Use available sober rides programs.
- Promptly report drunk drivers seen on roadways to law enforcement.
- Wear
a seat belt if in a car or a helmet if on a motorcycle. It is the only defense
in a crash caused by an impaired driver.
“Driving any vehicle – including a motorcycle – when ‘buzzed’ or drunk is wrong and not worth the risk,” she said. “Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving are significant.”
Violators
face jail time, loss of their driver’s license, higher insurance rates,
attorney fees, unpaid time away from work and many other expenses.
###
Local
Contact:
Schaffer's Towing (208) 667-2330