ROANOKE, Va. – The Virginia DMV and law enforcement are launching an annual initiative to stop drinking and driving with “Act Like It” ads. The message of these ads is, “If you are old enough to drink, act like it.”
“It may seem goofy and funny and childish at some points but it’s trying to hit that point home that driving is an adult responsibility and if you want that responsibility you need to act like it,” said Sergeant Spencer Hoopes of the Roanoke County Police Division.
The timing of these ads is no coincidence. There’s an increased risk of Virginians getting in an accident caused by impaired driving during the holiday season.
“Between Thanksgiving of 2020 and New Years Day of 2021 Virginia saw 14 fatalities due to alcohol-related crashes,” said George Bishop, the Deputy Commissioner Virginia DMV.
Wednesday night in Fairfax County, a Virginia State trooper and the people he stopped barely avoided injury after an impaired driver slammed into the trooper’s patrol car. No one was hurt, but the driver was charged with DUI. Closer to home, the numbers of these types of accidents are daunting.
“What I saw here in the Roanoke region in 2020, 785 alcohol-related crashes took place in this region. That’s a pretty significant number when you compare that to the rest of the state,” said Hoopes.
Despite less people on the road last year, the effects of drinking and driving were profound.
“There were 272 Virginians that did not get to go shopping, and did not get to celebrate with their families or friends because they were killed due to alcohol-related crashes,” he added.
It’s a sobering reminder that if you’re old enough to drink, act like it.