The Results are in for the July 2, 2021, Statewide Checkpoint Activation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:

Cynthia Cavett, Cynthia.Cavett@delaware.gov

 The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is once again implementing a multi-tiered strategy to encourage responsible driving behaviors and, ultimately, create safer roadways throughout Delaware during the Fourth of July holiday. The OHS SoberLift program, presented in partnership with Lyft®, will be activated in Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach, South Bethany Beach, Fenwick Island, and Ocean View nightly from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. beginning Thursday, July 1 and continuing through Monday, July 5, ending at 2:00 a.m.

A key component of the campaign is the opportunity for individuals to receive free Lyft® vouchers* enabling them to “ride sober.” A discount code for a maximum $15 Lyft® value can be redeemed by texting “SOBERLIFT” to 99000. The Lyft® opportunity works hand in hand with a robust communications campaign throughout the Delaware beaches over the holiday weekend, and DUI checkpoints implemented by state and local law enforcement statewide (see below for dates and locations).

“The Fourth of July is about coming together and celebrating what unites us. Sadly, it is also an all-too-often deadly time on Delaware roads.  Before you head out for your celebrations, remember to plan ahead and arrange for a sober ride home,” Kimberly Chesser, Director, Delaware Office of Highway Safety.  “Deaths and serious injuries caused by impaired driving are preventable, and too many lives are tragically cut short in traffic crashes involving alcohol- and drug-impaired driving.”

Throughout the July Fourth SoberLift initiative, OHS will engage in a steady stream of messaging that encourages drivers and passengers to understand the risks and potential consequences of driving while impaired and to plan for a sober ride before the celebration begins. To achieve its goals, OHS will be communicating with the community through print and digital advertising; social media; table tents, posters, and sandwich boards in public areas, restaurants, and retailers throughout Delaware beach towns, in addition to public relations efforts. OHS encourages drivers to use its recently launched Arrive Alive DE Impaired Driving Simulator — available at arrivealivede.com/drive-sober—a first-of-its-kind augmented reality tool to help website visitors see the potential effects of impairment on driving. The “drive sober” website page also houses the new BAC Calculator tool to help website visitors understand the different levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) which refers to the percentage of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream. In Delaware, a person is legally intoxicated if they have a BAC of 0.08% or higher.

Additional support will come from community partners helping to distribute educational materials and influence the unique community they serve. Most notably, the State of Delaware Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement will be distributing SoberLift materials to bars and restaurants in beach communities as well as engaging staff and other groups in discussion of ways they can impact positive behavior by, for example, adhering to over-pouring regulations.

“The SoberLift program allows the Delaware Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement the opportunity to work with our partners at Delaware Office of Highway Safety in promoting positive behavior by beach area bars and restaurants and helping to ensure our citizens and Delaware roadways are safer during the holiday weekend,” Chief John A. Yeomans, Delaware Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement.

Sponsors of this SoberLift program include Breakthru Beverage DE, Captain Morgan, Two Stones, Grain Craft Bar + Kitchen, First State Brew Bus, Washington Street Ale House/Oyster House, Dewey Business Partnership, Bluecoast Seafood, and Grill Rehoboth, The Starboard, Liquid Alchemy Brewing, and Aloysius Butler & Clark (AB&C).

“Since 2018, over 1,200 people across Delaware have used OHS’s SoberLift program during Fourth of July, and other periods prone to higher incidence rates for DUI arrests and crashes rather than possibly drive home impaired. The campaign is a success due to these people making the responsible decision to make a plan for a sober ride home before the celebrating begins,” Cynthia Cavett, Marketing Specialist II & Public Information Officer, Delaware Office of Highway Safety.

July 4^th DUI Checkpoints Activated Statewide

Three sobriety checkpoints are scheduled for the upcoming holiday weekend beginning Friday, July 2 at 10 p.m. and continuing into Saturday, July 3 at 2 a.m. The checkpoints are part of a weekend-long mobilization educating Delawareans to secure a sober ride home before starting their celebration festivities.

The following are the scheduled checkpoint locations for the holiday weekend:

• New Castle County – Route 72 near Newark
• Kent County – U.S. 13 near Dover
• Sussex County – State Route 24 near Millsboro

The Independence Day holiday DUI checkpoint activation will include sixty-six law enforcement officers from fifteen local, county, and municipal police agencies in addition to Delaware State Police. At least one Drug Recognition Enforcement (DRE) officer will be part of the checkpoint activation in each county. The checkpoint locations are in targeted areas known to have a high number of DUI arrests and crashes including both injuries and fatalities.

OHS reminds drivers and passengers that in addition to alcohol and illegal drugs, medications prescribed by a healthcare provider and even some over-the-counter drugs can impair driving and may carry severe penalties.

Impaired Driving Statistics for Delaware

Over the period of 5 years from 2016-2020, drivers between the ages of 35 to 44 have shown the highest numbers of DUI crashes, with drivers 20 to 29 trailing behind. In the age-gender groups, it seems that age 20-29 and 35-44 males are the biggest contributors to this trend. Saturday typically has the highest number of DUI-related crashes, followed closely by Sunday for the 5-year average. The times where DUI-related crashes occur the most are:

• Friday 9 p.m. – 12 a.m.
• Saturday 9 p.m. – 12 a.m.
• Sunday 12 a.m. – 3 a.m.
• Saturday 12 a.m. – 3 a.m.

Over the July Fourth holiday weekend in 2020 (July 2 – 5, 2020):

• 52 DUI arrests were made over the holiday period (July 2 – 5, 2020)
• 24 DUI-related crashes resulted in:
  • 13 injuries
  • 4 fatalities

For more information, visit https://www.arrivealivede.com/drive-sober/.

*The number of daily SoberLift codes available will be limited.

Media Contact:

AB&C, Jenn Buchman, JBuchman@abcreative.com

DOHS, Cynthia Cavett, Cynthia.Cavett@delaware.gov

DATE, Jason Atallian, Jason.Atallian@delaware.gov

About the Delaware Office of Highway Safety
The Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is committed to improving the safety of Delaware’s motoring public by focusing on behavioral traffic safety issues, such as impaired driving, seat belt use, speeding, child passenger safety, pedestrian and bicycle safety, motorcycle safety, and teen driving issues. Follow the Delaware Office of Highway Safety on ArriveAliveDE.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Three drivers arrested for driving while impaired and nine individuals arrested on drug-related charges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Cynthia Cavett, Marketing Specialist II & Public Information Officer
Delaware Office of Highway Safety
Cynthia.Cavett@delaware.gov
302-744-2740

Dover, Del. (December 16, 2019) – The Delaware Office of Highway Safety coordinated DUI checkpoints in each county statewide this past weekend as part of the Safe Family Holiday DUI enforcement campaign, and the results are in. Three individuals were arrested for driving while impaired, and one person was apprehended on an outstanding warrant. Nine individuals were arrested on drug-related charges, and 18 drivers were detained for further investigation. In addition, 38 drivers were cited for other traffic arrests including four drivers for driving without being buckled up.

A total of 60 officers from the Delaware State Police and local law enforcement agencies manned the three checkpoints and saw a total of 2,522 cars pass-through.

DUI Checkpoints are placed in locations based on crash statistics and frequency of DUI arrests

“OHS will continue Safe Family Holiday DUI Patrols throughout December and the New Year in our ongoing commitment to removing impaired drivers off of our streets and highways, ultimately lowering the risk for deaths and injuries due to driving while intoxicated from drugs or alcohol,” – Richard Klepner, Deputy Director, Delaware Office of Highway Safety. 

To date, there have been 4,015 DUI arrests throughout the state of Delaware since January 1st and *24 confirmed DUI fatal crashes.

The Office of Highway Safety is grateful to the Delaware State Police, local law enforcement agencies, and safety partners who manned the Safe Family Holiday DUI checkpoints. Operation Checkpoint Strikeforce is a collaborate enforcement and campaign throughout the year that is made possible through the cooperative efforts with our safety partners.

You can follow the Delaware Office of Highway Safety by visiting:
Delaware Office of Highway Safety Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Operation Checkpoint StrikeForce Activated this weekend in conjunction with the Safe Family Holiday DUI Enforcement Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Cynthia Cavett, Marketing Specialist II & Public Information Officer
Delaware Office of Highway Safety
Cynthia.Cavett@delaware.gov
302-744-2740

Dover, Del. (December 13, 2019) – The Delaware Office of Highway Safety is coordinating Operation Checkpoint Strikeforce in each county statewide this weekend as part of the Safe Family Holiday DUI enforcement campaign, which is ongoing throughout the state this holiday season.

On Saturday, December 14, 2019, Delaware State Police and local law enforcement will be conducting DUI checkpoints in all three counties from 10 PM into Sunday, December 15, 2019, at 2 AM, as follows:

NCC – Limestone Road, Wilmington
KC – US 13, Dover
SC – SR 54, Fenwick Island

So far in 2019, there are 20 confirmed DUI fatalities (note: this number is not final as there are crashes still under investigation for impairment).

“Our office wants to reinforce the need to plan ahead during this busy time of year. If you are joining your coworkers for a holiday party after work, or meeting family at a restaurant for your holiday festivities, and plan to drink, make sure you have a sober ride home and arrive alive,” said Delaware Office of Highway Safety Director, Kimberly Chesser. “There is no excuse for driving impaired. Give your loved ones the gift of you this holiday season and make sure you get home safely.”

In addition to the Safe Family Holiday DUI Checkpoints, OHS wants to remind the public of best practices for a safe night on the roads this holiday season:

• If you plan to drink, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation or a ride service to get home safely.
• Find a safe ride statewide from the OHS Safe Ride resource link https://www.arrivealivede.com/Drive-Sober/Safe-Rides#wilmington.
• If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact local law enforcement, when safe to do so.
• Have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get your friend home safely. They’re worth it.

For more information on the consequences of driving impaired, visit https://www.arrivealivede.com/Drive-Sober/Consequences.

You can follow the Delaware Office of Highway Safety:
Delaware Office of Highway Safety Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

The statewide Thanksgiving 2019 DUI Checkpoint was a success

Dover, Del. (December 2, 2019) – The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) coordinated DUI checkpoints on Thanksgiving Eve in each county statewide on November 27, from 10 PM to November 28, at 2 AM the following morning.

Checkpoint Results

Working together with the Delaware State Police and local law enforcement, OHS supported three DUI checkpoints across the state. A total of 65 officers worked 390 hours combined and saw 1,463 vehicles come through the checkpoints.

OHS is pleased to report that Thanksgiving 2019 DUI Checkpoint Strikeforce was a success. In Delaware, officers made 6 DUI arrests and netted an additional 58 traffic arrests or citations for various infractions, including 6 seatbelt assessments, 7 drug arrests and the apprehension of 1 wanted person.

“It is our goal to remove impaired drivers from Delaware roadways and prevent tragedies during this holiday season. OHS would like to thank Delaware State Police, the many local law enforcement agencies, as well as other safety partners like DelDOT for their participation with this activation of Checkpoint Strikeforce. Their continued commitment empowers our efforts during this most dangerous time of year,” – Richard Klepner, Deputy Director, Delaware Office of Highway Safety.

Upcoming Checkpoint Strikeforce

OHS will coordinate the next Checkpoint Strikeforce effort on December 14, 2019. Three DUI checkpoints will occur statewide, as well as DUI patrols, to deter individuals from driving while impaired.

You can follow the Delaware Office of Highway Safety by visiting:
Delaware Office of Highway Safety Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Cynthia Cavett, Marketing Specialist II & Public Information Officer
Delaware Office of Highway Safety
Cynthia.Cavett@delaware.gov
302-744-2740

###

About the Delaware Office of Highway Safety
The Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is committed to improving the safety of Delaware’s motoring public by focusing on behavioral traffic safety issues such as impaired driving, seat belt use, speeding, child passenger safety, pedestrian and bicycle safety, motorcycle safety, and teen driving issues. FAQs can be found at ArriveAliveDE.com.