The community of Havre, Montana, experienced an increasing number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities during the winter holidays (from Thanksgiving Day to New Year’s Day). One reason was because there was no public transportation to safely transport impaired drivers to their destinations.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goals of the Sober & Safe program were to:

• Reduce the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities between Thanksgiving Day and New Years Day;
• Reduce the number of DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) arrests on New Years Eve; and
• Remove drinking drivers from vehicles at the start of the evening rather than the end of the evening.

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

A community committee was formed to address the problem of increasing alcohol-related fatalities around the winter holidays. The committee included the Hill County Sheriff, the Havre Police Chief, the Coroner, a funeral director, local business owners, the Tavern Association, Havre Ford, Cellular One, and the community prevention organization. Committee members worked together to develop a program to address the problem and implement fun activities intended to help decrease alcohol-related fatalities. The locally developed logo (picturing several dogs in a car, with the driving dog saying, “I love you guys, so I drive.”), and the locally differentiated program name (“Sober & Safe”) provided the necessary themes. The logo and theme were placed on billboards, in media spots, on drink mugs, etc., to get the message out to the public. Additionally, the Tavern Association members provided free non-alcoholic drinks to designated drivers who carried these mugs. Cocktail napkins containing “the cost of DWI” were used prominently in taverns, which generated a lot of discussion among patrons.

On New Year’s Eve, a free shuttle service took partygoers from residences to destinations and back home again. The shuttle also provided transportation for family babysitters. The service was managed with donated cell phones, and available within a range of ten miles, from 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.

RESULTS

Several thousand rides have been provided over seven New Year’s Eves. Hundreds of media plays and thousands of handouts have been provided. There have been no fatal crashes in the county during the seven years of the project period. And for six of those years, the number of DWI arrests has declined.