(GREENWOOD, Miss.)– To promote safety during this holiday season, the Mississippi Delta Region Alcohol Countermeasures/Impaired Driving Prevention Initiative and Troop D LEL, in partnership with Flatland Grill, will unveil the Coaster Campaign on Dec. 11, at 11 a.m., at Flatland Grill, 101 Professional Pl., Greenwood.
This initiative is implemented by Jackson State University’s Metro Jackson Community Prevention Coalition (MJCPC). The initiative will inform and educate the Mississippi Delta community about the dangers of driving while impaired. Cup coasters with the slogan, “DRIVE SOBER, OR GET PULLED OVER,” provided by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, will be utilized.
Flatland Grill is supporting MJCPC’s efforts by using the coasters when serving alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages to their customers. “It is our hope that exposure to the prevention message will encourage would-be violators to designate a sober driver as part of their holiday celebration,” said Velesha P. Williams, director of the MJCPC.
Williams said law enforcement will show zero tolerance for drunk drivers on the road. State and local law enforcement will be watching for drunk drivers from Dec. 13 to Jan. 1, 2014, to help keep roads safe for holiday travelers with aggressive enforcement. Statistics show the holiday season is a particularly deadly time due to the increased number of drunk drivers on the roads. In the Mississippi Delta region, from 2007 to 2012, there were 246 people killed in crashes that involved drivers with blood alcohol concentrations of .08 or higher.
According to the Mississippi Office of Highway Safety, there were a total of 807 drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2011; 62 were between 15-18 years of age; five of the teens had a blood alcohol concentration of .10 or greater. “These numbers are too high, particularly knowing that impaired driving is 100 percent preventable,” Williams said.