Media Alert
PIO
Press Release
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Fact Sheet
Background:
The Utah Department of Public Safety is hosting a Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign to encourage Utahns to always choose a sober ride. This campaign includes enforcement and education.
- Enforcement: Utahns can expect to see an increase in DUI enforcement from August 18th – September 6th, 2021. Over 20 Law Enforcement Agencies will be working 181 additional DUI shifts during this period.
- The enforcement period is strategically planned during summer and Labor day.
- Education: This educational campaign reminds Utahns about the severe legal and life altering consequences that can result from choosing to drink and drive and to encourage them to always choose a sober ride. Our campaign is focused on the fact that “every sip has a consequence.”
Drunk driving crashes are 100 percent preventable if individuals act responsibly… Utahns can designate a sober driver, call a cab or a sober friend, or call rideshare. If you choose to drink, don’t drive.
The Statistics:
- In 2020, there were an average of 29.5 impaired-driving arrests per day.
- Labor Day weekend averages 180+ DUI arrests each year.
- In 2020, there were 61 alcohol-related fatalities on Utah roads.
- Between 2016-2020, an average of 21% of all traffic fatalities in Utah were alcohol-related.
— - As of today, 2021 has seen 58 drug or alcohol-related fatalities.
- 1,250 total alcohol-related crashes.
- 648 total drug-related crashes.
- Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) estimates that the average drunk driver will risk driving drunk more than 80 times before his/her first arrest.
- Over the past 10 years, drivers between the ages of 21-39 had the highest number of drunk drivers in fatal crashes with 72 percent of the DUI driving arrestees being male.
2020 Annual Stats:
Total Fatal crashes: 256
Total Fatalities: 276
Alcohol-related fatal crashes: 1,988
Alcohol-related fatalities: 61
Year-To-Date 2021 Stats (as of 08/24/2021):
Total Fatal Crashes: 172
Deaths: 195
Alcohol-related crashes: 1,250
Drug-Related crashes: 648
Drug or Alcohol-Related deaths: 58
All of the consequences of DUI can be prevented
- Drinking and driving has so many negative consequences
- You get arrested
- Car gets impounded
- Driver license gets suspended
- Lose your job or it can be a barrier to future employment
- Face fines and fees running into thousands of dollars
- If you get into a crash, you could injure or kill an innocent person
- None of this ever has to happen – every instance of drinking and driving is 100% preventable
If you see a drunk driver on the road, call 911. Some of the signs of drunk driving are:
- Drifting during a turn or curve
- Inattentiveness to surroundings
- Swerving or weaving across lanes
- Stopping too far, too short, too jerky, and having a slow response at traffic signals
- Driving without headlights on at night
- Varying speed or driving too slow (approximately 10+ mph under the speed limit)
(Source: NHTSA DWI Detection Guide)
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