04-03-2025
TxDOT launches anti-drunk driving campaign as Spring Break approaches
TEXAS (KMID/KPEJ)- With spring break approaching for college students across the state, the Texas Department of Transportation is launching its statewide 'Drive Sober. No Regrets' Spring Break drunk driving prevention campaign today. A campaign to encourage Texans not to drink and drive over the break at any time, and to always choose a sober ride.
'Drunk driving crashes are one hundred percent preventable,' TxDOT Traffic Safety Program Manager Ruby Martinez said. 'Some safe alternatives…a designated friend who won't be drinking any amount of alcohol, call a sober friend or family member to give you a ride, rideshare services, taxis, mass transit, or simply staying put after drinking until you sober up.'
Martinez also states that the campaign aims to reduce DUI alcohol related traffic crashes in Texas. It also features real stories of drunk driving victims speaking from the heart about losing beloved family members or facing life with serious injuries.
In 2019, a 17-year-old Andrea Elizalde was thrown out of a Corvette after her inebriated friend hit a light pole at 110 mph on an Amarillo highway. David Elizalde, Andrea's father, is participating in TxDOT's campaign to share his daughter's story and to stress the importance of not getting behind the wheel if you have been drinking.
'I don't want any other family to experience what we have as a family,' David said. 'All the pain and suffering of my family could have been avoided if that driver that day would have made a different choice.'
Spring break is a time to have fun for college students, but it can be deadly. TxDOT is partnering with campus-based group U in the Driver Seat and others to educate the dangers of drinking and driving.
'It isn't worth it,' UTSA Student Member of U in the Driver Seat, Davianna Livas said. 'You aren't just gambling with your life but you are gambling with others in your car or on the road.'
During the 2023 Spring Break, there were 375 alcohol-related crashes in Texas involving drivers between the ages of 17 and 30, resulting in the deaths of nine young drivers. What's more, 51 percent of all alcohol-related crashes in Texas during the 2023 spring break period involved drivers ages 17-30.
'If you see that someone has been drinking let them know you are worried about them and encourage them to find a sober ride or to stay put until they are sober,' Martinez said. 'Offer to drive them home if you have not been drinking. We all play a part in keeping our roads safe.'
Beyond the possibility of taking a life, including your own, driving impaired and getting a DWI can result in time-consuming legal hassle, loss of your driver license, and fines and fees up to 17,000.
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