DOT targets "buzzed driving"

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation announced in a press release Friday that it has joined the Advertising Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to expand the focus of their drunk driving prevention campaign to target “buzzed driving.”
The new public service advertising campaign was launched this week to coincide with the holiday season, a time when drunk driving fatalities are at their highest.
“We’re pleased to join our national partners in this most recent push to help curb drunk driving and alcohol related deaths on our highways,” said RIDOT Director James R. Capaldi. “These innovative outreach efforts are significant in that they allow us to reach a wider audience.”
The focus of the national campaign has shifted from targeting the intervener to targeting the “buzzed driver”. The “buzzed driver” is one who drinks too much and drives, but does not consider himself/herself a hazard on the roadway since he/she believes the drinking is “moderate.” The new campaign is designed to inspire a dialogue about and recognition of the dangers of “buzzed” driving and, subsequently, motivate people to stop driving “buzzed.”
According to traffic safety administration, 50 percent of fatalities in Rhode Island in 2004 were alcohol-related.
The new advertisements feature people who are visibly drunk and then show people who are “buzzed” and may not recognize that they are still too drunk to drive. The ads conclude with the tagline “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving.”