NHTSA, Surgeon General Join Partners to Announce National Hispanic Impaired Driving Prevention Campaign

NHTSA, Surgeon General Join Partners to Announce National Hispanic Impaired Driving Prevention Campaign

NHTSA, Surgeon General Join Partners to Announce National Hispanic Impaired Driving Prevention Campaign

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
December 9, 2003

NHTSA 53-03
Tuesday, December 9, 2003
Contact: Rae Tyson
Telephone: (202) 366-9550

In its ongoing effort to educate the Latino community about the risks of drinking and driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today launched a campaign emphasizing to Hispanics that "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk." Joining NHTSA in the campaign are the Surgeon General of the United States, the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), and the Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention (LCAT).

According to NHTSA, impaired driving is a public health epidemic, with Hispanics being at higher risk. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for Hispanics ages 1-34 in the United States. Alcohol-related crashes account for about half of all Hispanic traffic-related fatalities.

"Unfortunately, Hispanic families are at greater risk of being affected by a public health problem that is 100 percent preventable," said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D. "This is a threat that requires widespread attention, and we are committed to raising awareness among Latinos about the dangers of driving after excessive drinking."

"My experience as a doctor, police officer and paramedic has shown me that impaired drivers destroy lives," said the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Richard Carmona. "We must work together to improve treatment for people who drink alcohol."

In 2002, more than 17,000 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes on the nation's highways, representing a death every 30 minutes. An estimated 258,000 people were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present - an average of one person injured approximately every two minutes.

Since 1981, December has been designated by Presidential proclamation as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month (3D Month). Earlier this month Dr. Runge unveiled a new departmental plan to address impaired driving, including high visibility traffic enforcement, enhanced support for DWI prosecution and adjudication, and medical screening and brief intervention of high-risk populations for alcohol use problems.

New Hispanic Impaired Driving Prevention Campaign Materials in Spanish unveiled today include:

The "Amigos No Dejan que los Amigos Manejen Borrachos" title="www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/alcohol/july4planner-03/spanishindex.htm" (Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk) poster and brochure
The "El salvar vidas es nuestro trabajo" (To Save Lives is Our Job) U.S. Surgeon General poster
The Designated Driver Program Guide
Radio PSAs for year-round use (in Merengue, Cumbia and Rap music) and
The National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention (LCAT) impaired driving project

In keeping with its commitment to reduce impaired driving crashes and fatalities among Hispanics, NHTSA has partnered with NHMA to make this information available to doctors, health clinics and hospitals that serve Latino communities. Their bilingual physicians in the top five Hispanic markets of Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Chicago and Houston will be spokespersons during this campaign to help disseminate the message among the Hispanic community that "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk."

NHTSA also has partnered with LCAT and the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) to implement a culturally specific and tailored adaptation of the "You Drink & Drive. You Lose." campaign. Earlier this spring, NHTSA chose three communities with both established and growing Latino populations to serve as demonstration sites for the study. Demonstration grants were awarded to the Doña Ana County DWI Prevention Coalition in New Mexico, the Durham Coalition for the Prevention of Impaired Driving in the Latino Community in North Carolina, and the South Texas Injury Prevention and Research Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

The Surgeon General's Office is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

For more information on the National Hispanic Impaired Driving Prevention Campaign, and to order campaign materials, visit http://www.nhtsa.gov/exit.cfm?link=http://www.stopimpaireddriving.org/, www.nhtsa.dot.gov/multicultural or http://www.nhtsa.gov/exit.cfm?link=http://www.hhs.gov/.

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