TxDOT anti-drunk driving campaign targeting college students on Spring Break

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — The Texas Department of Transportation is urging college students not to get behind the wheel of a vehicle if they have had any alcohol over Spring Break.

But the Drive Sober. No Regrets campaign goes further. Spring Break will come and go, but the campaign stresses that driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics is always a bad idea.

“Every drunk driving crash and death is one-hundred-percent preventable,” said Ruby Martinez, TxDOT Traffic Safety Program Manager. “DUI alcohol related crashes can result not only in lives lost, but also in life-altering, disabling, and permanent injuries for many survivors.”

The statewide impaired driving prevention campaign invites local college students to see and share firsthand stories from offenders and survivors to better understand the inherent risks of drunk driving. The campaign’s traveling video exhibit was at University of Texas at San Antonio on Thursday, and the 15-foot long video wall was brought in. You can take in some of the testimonials featured by offenders and survivors by clicking here.

TxDOT numbers show one person in Texas dies every 7 hours and 43 minutes in a DUI-alcohol (driving under the influence) related traffic crash. In 2021, 1,134 people in Texas were killed and 2,565 seriously injured because someone chose to get behind the wheel while impaired. During spring break of 2021, Texas recorded 874 DUI-alcohol related traffic crashes, resulting in 31 deaths and 107 serious injuries.

Beyond the inherent risk of injury and death to the driver, passengers or other innocent bystanders, driving while intoxicated is often accompanied by a lingering emotional and financial toll, resulting in legal, career, and mental health repercussions.

TxDOT’s Drive Sober. No Regrets. campaign is a key component of #EndTheStreakTX, a broader social media and word-of-mouth effort that encourages drivers to make safer choices while behind the wheel to help end the streak of daily deaths. Nov. 7, 2000, was the last deathless day on Texas roadways.