The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) received an Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) Achievement Award for installing signs in state roadside rest stops that read: “Report Drunk Drivers, Call 911.” According to OTS, the signs, “have significantly contributed to promoting and enhancing traffic safety in California.”
“These signs are one way of enlisting all Californians to combat the danger of drinking and driving, by giving them an easy way to report offenders and make our highways safer,” said Caltrans director Will Kempton.
Caltrans began installing the signs during Memorial Day weekend 2006, in time for the start of the busy summer driving season. More than 100 million motorists visit roadside rest stops in California each year.
Five departments within the state Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency have joined forces in urging the public to report suspected drunk drivers by calling 911. These departments include Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol , the Office of Traffic Safety, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) also participated in statewide public education events as part of the campaign.
“The Office of Traffic Safety is proud to partner with Caltrans in a campaign that is crucial in the fight against drunk driving,” said OTS director Christopher Murphy, whose office provided a grant to fund the signs.
