Major DUI Campaign Launching 4 th of July - Delaware Office of ...

STATE OF DELAWARE
OFFICE OF HIGHWAY SAFETY
P.O. BOX 1321
DOVER, DELAWARE 19903-1321
302-672-7642
www.ohs.delaware.gov
NEWS RELEASE NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Andrea Summers
June 29, 2009 Community Relations Officer
672-7642 (w) 943-7293 (c )
OHS Launches Major DUI Campaign 4 th of July Weekend
Alcohol-related deaths down for start of 2009 Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign
Dover - As thousands take to the roads for the 4 th of July holiday weekend remember these
names: Charlotte Vollendorf, Daniel Watson, George Grissom, Michael Banks, Chris Shea, Lisa
Pink, Keith Rogers, Jasmine Sample, Shaun Loomis, and Ashley Kauffman. These are only a
fraction of Delawareans who never made it home because they were killed in a crash involving
an impaired driver.
This weekend, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety hopes to prevent other families
from having to receive that gut wrenching late night knock at the door by launching its 8 th annual
Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign.
Checkpoint Strikeforce is a regional sobriety checkpoint campaign aimed at arresting
DUI offenders, and using high visibility enforcement to deter those who would otherwise choose
to drink and drive. The campaign, a six month long effort running through New Year’s Eve,
involves setting up weekly DUI checkpoints statewide. Officers participating in the 2008
campaign made 559 DUI arrests.
Ninety-eight sobriety checkpoints are scheduled to take place over the next six months,
with six of them set to occur this weekend. During peak holiday times including Labor Day,
Halloween, and the month of December, OHS will increase the number of checkpoints and add
roving DUI patrols to the plan.
Currently, alcohol-related fatalities are down significantly in Delaware. Nine of this
year’s 51 traffic deaths (17%) have been alcohol-related. At this time last year, 29 of the state’s
59 fatalities (49%) involved alcohol. Alcohol involvement is also suspected to have been a
factor in two of last weekend’s four fatal crashes.

“While the reduction in alcohol-related traffic deaths is encouraging, it does not mean
that we should in any way cut back on our enforcement or awareness efforts,” said Tricia
Roberts, Director of the Office of Highway Safety. “Too many people still fail to understand
that alcohol and driving don’t mix. Impaired driving is no accident—nor is it a victimless crime.
We will continue our work to bring it to an end.”
Twenty-two police agencies are participating in this year’s Checkpoint Strikeforce
campaign. They include: Clayton Police, Delaware State Police, Dover Police, Georgetown
Police, Harrington Police, Laurel Police, Milford Police, Millsboro Police, Rehoboth Beach
Police, Seaford Police, Smyrna Police and the New Castle County DUI Task Force which is
comprised of officers from the Delaware City Police, Division of Alcohol Tobacco Enforcement
(DATE), Division of Capitol Police, DNREC State Park Police, Elsmere Police, Middletown
Police, New Castle City Police, New Castle County Police, Newark Police, Newport Police, and
Wilmington Police.
The campaign’s enforcement activities will be supplemented by intense public awareness
in the form of new T.V. and radio spots, billboards, print, and internet ads. Bars, restaurants and
OHS’s corporate partners will receive fliers, posters, and table tents to display and help spread
the message. The campaign’s Spanish materials are being revised to make comprehension
among the non or limited English speaking Latino community easier.
As part of the Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign, OHS has formed a new partnership with
the Delaware Sports League to promote the HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers. Efforts
include ad placement on the DSL website and email blasts, sponsorship of a HERO shuttle bus,
and providing bottled water with a HERO message for DSL events after games. The HERO
Campaign was founded by the family of the late Ensign John Elliott, who was killed in a tragic
crash involving an impaired driver in 2000.
Those convicted of a first time DUI offense in Delaware can expect to lose their driver’s
license for up to three months, attend an 8-week DUI treatment class and pay nearly 4-thousand
dollars in court, treatment, DMV, and lawyer’s fees.
Checkpoint Strikeforce is the 2 nd initiative under OHS’s 120 Days of Summer HEAT
campaign, a summertime crackdown on traffic violators which began with Click It or Ticket, and
will be followed next week by the Stop Aggressive Driving campaign. For more information on
Checkpoint Strikeforce visit www.ohs.delaware.gov and follow regular campaign updates on
Twitter at www.twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe .
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