The Shadow
RICHMOND, VA (VR) – As part of Virginia’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, Governor Glenn Youngkin is reminding Virginians to plan a safe ride home if their holiday plans include alcohol, citing stepped-up efforts by law enforcement throughout the Commonwealth to identify and apprehend drunk drivers.
Between December 11, 2024, and January 1, 2025, 168 Virginia law enforcement agencies will participate in the holiday wave of Virginia’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. Law enforcement officers will conduct 761 individual saturation patrols and 82 sobriety checkpoints across the Commonwealth.
“This holiday season, Virginians have the opportunity to give the gift of a lifetime – a safe ride home after drinking,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “As every drunk driving fatality, injury, crash and arrest is 100-percent preventable, Virginia’s ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ DUI enforcement and public education campaign is on a mission to keep the Commonwealth’s roads safe from drunk drivers this holiday season. In as much, Virginians celebrating the holiday season with alcohol are asked to plan for a safe ride home.”
Between Thanksgiving Day 2023 and New Year’s Day 2024, 466 people were injured and 13 lost their lives because of alcohol-related crashes on Virginia roadways. Though this is a decrease in alcohol-related crash fatalities from the 23 the previous holiday season, drivers must continue to plan a sober ride.
“Safety is the best gift you can give your family and your community during the holidays. Be the one who makes sure your loved ones get home safe by serving as or arranging a designated driver,” said Virginia Secretary of Transportation W. Sheppard Miller III. “One simple decision can save lives and prevent heartbreak. Together we can keep the roadways safe and help all Virginians arrive alive.”
“More than a third of all U.S. traffic deaths occurring during the holiday season involve drunk drivers,” said Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Gerald Lackey, the Governor’s Highway Safety Representative. “You don’t want to be the reason someone doesn’t make it home for the holidays. Please, do not get behind the wheel if you have been drinking. Plan a safe ride home before you leave.”
In addition to the season’s stepped-up law enforcement efforts to combat drunk driving, Virginia’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign this year launched a newly enhanced and research-based statewide public awareness campaign entitled “What’s the Damage?” This campaign, bolstered by new TV and radio spots unveiled just last month, delivers fresh creative paired with impactful messaging reminding Virginia motorists of the costs of drunk driving and to plan a safe ride home before drinking.
The campaign’s new creative can be seen at WhatsTheDamage.org.
In addition, Virginia State Police personnel will work through the holiday as part of Operation CARE – the Crash Awareness Reduction Effort. CARE is a nationwide, state-sponsored traffic safety program that aims to reduce traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries caused by impaired driving, speeding, and failing to use occupant restraints. Virginia State Police’s participation in the program began December 13, 2024 and will run through January 1, 2025.
Virginia’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign is supported by research from the market research company Dynata which, in August of this year, conducted a survey of 256 Virginia drivers who are most likely to drive after drinking: 21 to 35-year-old males. Amongst other findings, the research showed that while nearly all (92%) of the 21-35-year-old male drivers surveyed in Virginia believe it is imperative to make a plan to get a safe ride home after drinking, only half (54%) always plan for a designated driver.
Since the start of the campaign in 2002, there has been notable progress in reducing drunk driving in Virginia. Alcohol-related traffic crashes have decreased by 38%, fatalities have decreased by 18%, and injuries have been nearly halved (46%) (2001 vs.2023, Virginia DMV).
Virginia’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign is a high-visibility enforcement effort aimed at preventing impaired driving and improving safety for all road users through awareness messaging and increased law enforcement presence on the road. The statewide traffic safety campaign is supported by a grant from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to the Virginia-based nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP).
