Pittsburgh, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) joined other Allegheny County safety partners to remind motorists to “Just Drive” ahead of the dangerous drinking celebration known as “Blackout Wednesday.”
Blackout Wednesday is the evening before Thanksgiving, which has a reputation for excessive alcohol consumption. Together, the partners decorated a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) tree, bringing awareness to the dangers and consequences of getting behind the wheel impaired by memorializing victims of last year’s impaired driving crashes in Allegheny County.
The partners use the tree as a reminder for motorists to “just drive” with their full attention on the road and safe arrival at their destination. Since impairment impacts a driver’s focus, judgement, and reaction abilities, no one should attempt to get behind the wheel impaired.
Since 2013, the partners have been conducting the DUI tree program with local high schools throughout the county, allowing students to decorate a DUI tree with each tree ornament representing a statistic that occurred last year in Allegheny County. The safety partners also decorate their own DUI Tree, with this year’s being displayed at the PennDOT District 11 Office and lit during today’s media event. The tree brings awareness to the dangers of impaired driving. During the event, the representation of each decoration was explained, and signs were hung near the tree for employees and visitors to view.
The tree was covered with 1,002 lights representing Allegheny County crashes during last winter’s holiday season, 105 red bows representing impaired crashes, and three gold bulbs representing fatalities in those crashes.
PennDOT reminds motorists that impaired driving crashes are 100 percent preventable and asks drivers to keep themselves, their families and other motorists safe by designating a sober driver if impairment is a possibility.
The Allegheny County safety partners are dedicated to bringing education and awareness of traffic safety to the region and consists of AAA East Central, Allegheny County Health Department, Allegheny County Police Department, Children’s Hospital Injury Prevention, City of Pittsburgh Police, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pennsylvania Traffic Injury Prevention Project.
For more information, visit www.PennDOT.pa.gov/safety.
PennDOT’s media resources web page offers social media-sized graphics for numerous transportation-related campaigns, including safety topics such as aggressive driving, speeding, distracted driving, and seat belts for organizations, community groups, or others who share safety information with their stakeholders.
For regional updates, follow PennDOT on X and join the Greater Pittsburgh Area PennDOT Facebook group.
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