PennDOT and DPS team up against impaired driving

Penn’s Division of Public Safety stressed the importance of safe driving practices the afternoon of Nov. 10 in a community event and press conference outside the Penn Bookstore. DPS collaborated with Street Smarts and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to “raise awareness to the Penn community about underage drinking and impaired driving,” said Street Smarts Health Educator Jessica Jones.

Street Smarts, Philadelphia’s highway traffic safety project, handed out pamphlets and organized activities to engage passersby in the initiative to end accidents caused by individuals driving under the influence.

College senior Todd Busler volunteered to wear fatal vision goggles which simulated an intoxicated person’s perception of their surroundings. He struggled to walk in a straight line and toss a ball back and forth, demonstrating the dangers of impaired driving. Jones explained, “if while wearing these goggles they can’t carry out the simple task of walking straight, then how can they drive a vehicle?”

Pedestrians stopped to see the 30-foot trailer which served as a moving memorial listing the names of over 1,000 victims of DUI-related crashes in Pennsylvania since 1945. Chief of the Penn Police Mark Dorsey began the press conference by emphasizing the seriousness of highway and traffic safety. “Safety and security is a shared responsibility,” he said.

Eastern PA Law Enforcement Director George Geisler reminded attendees of the fatal consequences of drinking under the influence: “Four-hundred-forty-nine families in Pennsylvania were destroyed in 2010 because someone made the senseless decision to drive while under the influence. 1,185 DUI-related crashes took place right before Thanksgiving.” Apart from the horrific loss of lives associated with DUIs, the fines and costs of getting arrested generally exceed $10,000 due to costs of “rehabilitation, increased insurance, towing, bailing and legal fees.”

Jenny Robinson, manager of Public and Government Affairs at AAA Mid-Atlantic concluded the conference with advice for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, or “the busiest highway travel season, and unfortunately the deadliest.” The holidays are also a time when students home from Penn may drive more than they normally would while school is in session.

“Drive safely, buckle up and never drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol … Never drive drowsy,” Robinson said before urging the importance of planning the trip beforehand, checking tires, taking breaks and rotating drivers, as well as packing a winter car emergency kit. “And never text and drive,” Robinson added. “Governor Corbett signed a new law that bans texting and driving in Pennsylvania, and although it doesn’t take effect until early March 2012, why wait to be safe?”

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