(Falls Church, VA, Wednesday, December 18, 2019) – With the holiday season in full swing, it is important to note that alcohol and driving can be a deadly combination. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 38% of all U.S. traffic fatalities involved drunk drivers during last year’s Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

Checkpoint Strikeforce is back in Virginia. The research-based, multi-state, zero tolerance initiative is designed to get impaired drivers off the roads using checkpoints and patrols along with education about the dangers and consequences of driving while intoxicated.

Marshall Herman, Chair of the Governor’s Executive Leadership Team on Highway Safety, has advice for keeping impaired drivers off the road.

SOUNDBITE #1:

TWO-HUNDRED-SEVENTY-EIGHT PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES IN VIRGINIA AS A RESULT OF ALCOHOL-IMPAIRED DRIVING IN TWENTY-EIGHTEEN.  WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE GETS HOME SAFELY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON – AND CHECKPOINT STRIKEFORCE WILL HAVE EIGHTY-TWO SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS AND SEVEN-HUNDRED-THIRTY SATURATION PATROLS THROUGHOUT VIRGINIA TO CATCH THOSE WHO ARE PUTTING THEMSELVES AND OTHERS AT RISK.

SOUNDBITE #2:

ACCORDING TO A RECENT STATEWIDE SURVEY OF TWENTY-ONE TO THIRTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD MALES IN VIRGINIA, THE POPULATION MOST LIKELY TO DRINK AND DRIVE, LESS THAN TWO-THIRDS SAID THEY FREQUENTLY PLAN AHEAD FOR A SAFE RIDE HOME. THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, WE ARE REMINDING THOSE WHO ARE OLD ENOUGH TO DRINK TO ACT LIKE IT, AND PLAN THAT SAFE RIDE HOME, OR LAW ENFORCEMENT WILL CATCH YOU.

To learn more, visit www.actlikeit.org.