Lt. Governor Signs Proclamation to Launch
HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers in Delaware

Safety and law enforcement officials also announce
details of DE participation in national DUI crackdown

Lewes - Although “It’s Good Being First” Office of Highway Safety officials were still exceptionally pleased with Delaware’s second place designation on Friday August A17th. That’s when Lt. Governor John C. Carney, Jr. signed a proclamation making Delware the second HERO state in the nation, and OHS announced a new partnership with the New Jersey based HERO campaign to promote designated drivers. The announcement came at a press event held at Delaware State Police Troop 2 in Newark, which also outlined details of Delaware’s participation in the National Impaired Driving Crackdown which has just begun.

“Drunk driving is a crime that can all too often turn deadly. Promoting the use of designated drivers is another strong tool we can use to protect the safety of our citizens,” said Lt. Governor Carney.
“Delaware is already a leader in DUI enforcement and awareness efforts, and incorporating the HERO campaign’s message into our strategic plan further strengthens our commitment to stopping impaired driving,” said Dept. of Safety and Homeland Security Secretary David B. Mitchell who introduced the Lt. Governor.

The HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers was created by the parents of Naval Ensign John R. Elliott. Ensign Elliott was killed in a head-on collision with a drunken driver just weeks after graduating from the Naval Academy in 2000. On July 22nd of that year, Elliott, who drove from Annapolis, Maryland through Delaware to his home state of New Jersey for his mother’s birthday, was struck head on by an impaired driver in Salem County. The driver had been arrested earlier in the evening on DUI charges but was released after posting bail. That driver was also killed. Bill and Muriel Elliott created the HERO campaign in John’s honor to end the scourge of drunken driving by celebrating the designated driver as a HERO.

“The HERO Campaign is a positive legacy for our son,” said Bill Elliott. “At the U.S. Naval Academy John was named the outstanding HERO (Human Education Resource Officer) for his service to his fellow midshipmen. Now the heroes will be the designated drivers who keep our highways safer in John’s memory.”

Delaware OHS officials plan to implement the HERO Campaign by distributing posters and table tents to bars and restaurants and encourage them to provide free non-alcoholic beverages for those who agree to be designated drivers, as well as distribute designated driver pledge cards at sobriety checkpoints and on college campuses. Dover Downs Hotel & Casino implemented the HERO program on their own in 2006 and hope the state’s other casino facilities will do the same.

Office of Highway Safety Director Tricia Roberts announced that the sobriety checkpoint conducted Friday evening by Delaware State Police Troop 2, would be dedicated in Ensign Elliott’s memory. The dedication is the second in OHS’s Dedicated DUI Checkpoint Initiative, which is aimed at remembering the victims of impaired driving, honoring the families who keep their memories alive and demonstrating OHS’s and the law enforcement community’s dedication to removing drinking drivers from the roads.

“Through this program we hope to remind the public of the tragic consequences of drinking and driving and make it real to them by sharing the story of how ordinary people were taken from us all too soon because of one person’s decision to get behind the wheel after drinking,” said Director Roberts.

DUI enforcement in the form of checkpoints and saturation patrols will be stepped up nationwide this week as all 50 states join together for the start of the national impaired driving crackdown, whose slogan is Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. It runs through Labor Day weekend.
“One of NHTSA’s key initiatives that relate to decreasing alcohol-related traffic fatalities is Sustained, High Visibility Enforcement, “said National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) Regional Administrator Dr. Elizabeth Baker at the press event. “Highly publicized and sustained enforcement has the greatest potential for reducing impaired driving crashes. Checkpoints in particular deter impaired driving because they are visible and frequent, and therefore prevent many impaired drivers who might get behind the wheel.”

In Delaware 27 State and law enforcement agencies will conduct DUI saturation patrols for the crackdown in addition to 10 checkpoints scheduled as part of the state’s ongoing Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign. Checkpoint Strikeforce is the nation’s first regional DUI checkpoint campaign. It involves the states of Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington D.C.
For more information on Checkpoint Strikeforce, visit the OHS website at www.ohs.delaware.gov; for more information on the HERO campaign visit www.herocampaign.org; and for more information on the national impaired driving crackdown visit www.stopimpaireddriving.org.

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