Arlington, Va., Nov. 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org) today launched a new campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of impaired driving. The “Drive Like You Give a #&%!” campaign, which features a series of public service announcements and social media posts, specifically targets young men to remind them not to drive impaired. The campaign stars NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and a cast of characters arrested for their respective impaired driving – drunk, drugged, distracted, and drowsy – offenses.
Watch the video series here.
“Traffic fatalities are increasing in the United States, and many factors contribute to this growth, including impaired driving,” said Ralph Blackman, President and CEO of Responsibility.org. “All forms of impaired driving are dangerous and preventable, and they often don’t occur in a vacuum. We hope this provocative campaign will make viewers aware of the serious consequences of getting behind the wheel impaired.”
In 2016, males between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-nine accounted for 21 percent of all traffic fatalities involving males, and male drunk drivers were 1.5 times more likely than female drunk drivers to be involved in a fatal crash. Young men in their twenties also accounted for 21 percent of all drunk driving fatalities in 2016.
These statistics show that young males are responsible for a disproportionate share of traffic fatalities, leading Responsibility.org to target this demographic specifically in the no-nonsense, attention-grabbing campaign. In the campaign, Shaquille O’Neal plays a law enforcement officer fed up with impaired driving. Responsibility.org hopes the message will resonate with this high-risk audience and ignite a deeper sense of responsibility to the safety of their communities. Shaq’s voice can’t be missed, and neither can the message, to, “Drive like you give a #&%!”
“I’ve worked closely with Responsibility.org for several years, and I’m excited to be a part of this new campaign,” said Shaquille O’Neal. “As a reserve police officer in Florida, I’m dedicated to keeping our communities safe. That means doing what I can to keep impaired drivers off the roads. These crashes are preventable, and people need to take responsibility for their actions behind the wheel.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 94 percent of traffic crashes can be tied back to a human choice or error. Here are a few stats on impaired driving:
Drunk Driving
In 2016, 28 percent of traffic fatalities involved a drunk driver, the lowest proportion since record keeping began in 1982. While drunk driving fatalities increased 1.7 percent from 2015 to 2016, the long-term trend shows drunk driving fatalities continue to trend downward, decreasing 20 percent from 13,041 in 2007 to 10,497 in 2016.
Source: 2016 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview
Drugged Driving
Twenty-three percent of night-time drivers tested positive for illegal, prescription or over-the-counter medications (based on the combined results of oral fluid and blood tests or both).
Source: NHTSA, Results of the 2013-14 National Roadside Survey, 2015. DOT HS 812 118
Distracted Driving
In 2016, 3,450 people (nine percent of overall traffic fatalities) were killed in distraction-affected crashes. Distracted driving fatalities decreased 2.2 percent from 2015 to 2016.
Source: 2016 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview
Drowsy Driving
In 2016, two percent of all traffic fatalities involved a drowsy driver, and at least 803 people were killed in drowsy driving crashes. Drowsy driving fatalities decreased 3.5 percent from 2015 to 2016.
Source: 2016 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview
To learn more, visit www.responsibility.org.
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About the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility
The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org) is a national not-for-profit that leads the fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and is funded by the following distillers: Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.; Beam Suntory Inc.; Brown-Forman; Constellation Brands, Inc.; DIAGEO; Edrington; Hood River Distillers, Inc.; and Pernod Ricard USA. For 25 years, Responsibility.org has transformed countless lives through programs that bring individuals, families and communities together to guide a lifetime of conversations around alcohol responsibility. To learn more, please visit us at Responsibility.org or follow us on social media: @goFAAR.
Attachments:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5328d2b5-312d-462c-913d-766232c6ae2f
Attachments:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1f5081c5-ed64-4962-ae97-50c2a4763818
CONTACT: Georgia Cassady Responsibility.org 2023551947 [email protected]