Jefferson County begins ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ campaign

1,056 alcohol-related crashes in Louisville in 2014

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 17, 2015) — The holiday “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign in Jefferson County kicked off today in Louisville.

Louisville in 2014 had more than 1,056 crashes involving alcohol and/or drugs, resulting in 557 injuries and 17 fatalities.  Of those crashes, 105 occurred during December, resulting in 39 injuries and 5 fatalities.

“Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”campaigns reduce impaired-driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal agency that funds the campaign.

“Although agencies place an emphasis on enforcement throughout the year, this campaign brings heightened awareness of the impaired driving issue that tends to increase during the holiday season,” said Kentucky Office of Highway Safety executive director Bill Bell. “We want drivers to be responsible behind the wheel so everyone can be with their loved ones for the holidays. Lives could have been saved if they had just had a designated driver.”

To encourage the use of sober drivers, Brown-Forman is partnering with safe ride companies CityScoot, Taxi 7, Yellow Cab, and Uber to provide discounts using the code SAFERIDEKY through Jan. 3, 2016. Brown-Forman presented a $100,000 check to the four groups.

For information on the different discounts offered by each safe ride company go to www.saferideky.com.

KOHS also has partnered with Mobile Life Solutions to develop a free “Drive Sober Kentucky” application that can be downloaded at www.DriveSoberKY.com.

The app contains phone numbers to taxi and limousine services and sober-ride programs, along with a one-touch dial feature to report a drunken driver and information about the designated driver HERO campaign.  If a local taxi, limousine or sober-ride program would like to participate but is not included in the app, send contact information to [email protected].

For more information, visit the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Campaign Headquarters at www.nhtsa.gov/drivesober.