(Los Angeles, CA) – RADD has launched an education campaign in California college communities to raise awareness about the deadly consequences of drinking and driving. RADD is joining forces with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to launch a safety campaign this fall as thousands of students head back to college.

RADD’s campus and media campaign encourages young adults to dial up a safe ride home before they consider drinking. The message “Swipe Right on a Safe Ride Home” will be displayed on posters and billboards at dozens of college campuses and on social media where college aged kids hang out.

“We need to shine a spotlight on the importance of getting college age students to discuss how everyone will get home safely before they consider attending a party where alcohol is being consumed,” said Jacob Appelsmith, Director of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). ”Too many young lives are lost every year in tragedies that can be avoided.”

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24, die from alcohol-related injuries, including motor-vehicle crashes.

National Research shows approximately two out of every five college students of all ages, more than 40 percent of the student body, reported binge drinking at least once in the last two weeks.  

Comments Jim Lange, Executive Director of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery: “The American College Health Association has conducted a National College Health Assessment for almost 20 years.  In its most recent survey (Spring 2019), they found that while 88.1% of students reported using a designated driver, there were still 15% who reported driving after drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. While that is below previous years, it is too early to declare a downward trend.  And given past research from NIAAA that estimates approximately 1,800 college students die in alcohol-related injury events every year, and further that about 75% of those deaths involve vehicle crashes, there is still more we can do to save lives.”  

 “By instilling the rideshare safety message ‘Swipe Right on a Safe Ride Home,’ students can make smart, informed decisions about how they get home,” RADD President Erin Meluso said. “Our goal is to help guide students home in the safest way possible.”

Funding for this campaign was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Contact:         Karen Sundell                                                 Jennifer Kelleher

                         310/854-8167                                                  310/854-8171

                        ksundell@rogersandcowan.com                jkelleher@rogersandcowan.com

Contact

Additional information may be obtained by contacting:

Public Information Office
3927 Lennane Drive, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95834
Email: pio@abc.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 419-2525

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