FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 11, 2014
YOU BETTER WATCH OUT, I’M TELLING YOU WHY:
Stay Off the Naughty List – Designate a Driver
Southern Maryland- This time of year, with all the holiday
parties and festive occasions, many partygoers will be drinking. If you’re
celebrating with alcohol this holiday season, local law enforcement agencies
throughout southern Maryland share the same message: Drive Sober or Get Pulled
Over.
And local sales establishments agree it’s time for all
drivers to get the message that drunk driving isn’t a victimless crime. You
could kill yourself, someone else, or get a DUI and go to jail.
On Wednesday, December 10, 2014 just a few of the 100’s of
licensees came together with traffic safety partners and advocates, brewers,
and distributors throughout Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s County to promote
and reinforce the use of designated drivers this holiday season. Everyone agreed
the safest approach is to only drive sober. If you plan on drinking at a
holiday party, bar, or restaurant, let someone else do the driving – a sober
friend, a taxi or public transportation.
Representatives from the following sales establishments were
in attendance: Mully’s Brewery, ABD Liquors, Stoney’s Prince Frederick,
Boston’s Pizza, The Liquor Store, Colonial Liquors, Big B Liquors, Race-n-In,
and ABC Liquors. Partners in traffic safety included College of Southern
Maryland – Safe Communities, Liquor Control Board and Alcohol Beverage Board
Representatives, Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, County Health
Departments, Calvert Alliance Against Substance Abuse, Community Alcohol
Coalition, State Highway Administration, Maryland State Police, Calvert County
Sheriff’s Office, Charles County Sheriff’s Office, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s
Office, Natural Resources Police, Maryland Transportation Authority Police, La
Plata Police Department, Bob Hall Distributing, and Guy Distributing.
In a concerted effort to promote designated drivers, the
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office has partnered
with sales establishments, wineries, brewers, and distributors to distribute
wine/liquor bags with the message “Designate a Sober Driver”.
In addition to reminding all drivers to drive sober,
community partners are calling on everyone to be alert. If you see a drunk
driver on the road, call the police right away—you could save a life. If
someone you know is about to drive after drinking, take their keys and help
them get home safely. And if you are making arrangements to celebrate, include
plans for a safe, sober ride before heading out.
Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety
Office extends great appreciation to Bob Hall Distributing and Guy Distributing
for taking on the task of delivering the Designated Driver bags to licensees in
Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s County.
Every year, more than 10,322 people are killed by drunk
drivers in America. In 2013, 152 people were killed and 2,351 were injured in
impaired driving crashes in Maryland. One life lost is one too many. The
designated driver program is part of Maryland’s Toward Zero Deaths (www.towardzerodeathsmd.com)
goal of zero lives lost in motor vehicle crashes.
