Delaware Office of Highway Safety kicks off new road safety campaign

(Courtesy of Mac Nagaswami of Carvertise)

(Courtesy of Mac Nagaswami of Carvertise)

There’s only one thing on the minds of some Delaware officials this holiday season and that’s safety.

To date, 109 people have been killed on local roadways and there have been 106 fatal crashes. As a result, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety is prompted once again to educate people on driving dangers with its latest campaign, “Safe Family Holiday” that was unveiled on Friday.  The theme is “It’s the most dangerous time of the year. Drive sober. Arrive alive.”

“Given these statistics, it’s vital that everyone pay attention when driving during the holiday season,” said Lisa Flowers, Community Relations Officer at OHS.

The campaign also includes a partnership with Carvertise, a Wilmington based company that features drivers and their cars as the business model. Carvertise, which hires people to drive around in cars with various campaign ads, certainly understands the importance of safe and conscious driving.

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According to Mac Nagaswami who runs Carverrtise, roughly 20 cars were wrapped with the message, “It’s the most dangerous time of the year….” and will be driven in areas where crashes, particularly fatal crashes, have occurred throughout Delaware.

The goal is to highlight four dangers in the state that includes pedestrian safety, speed as well as impaired and distracted driving.

Officials said the importance of the campaign is evident by taking a look at the following data:

• 24 pedestrians have died on Delaware roadways to date in 2016.

• 33% of fatal crashes involved speed this year.

• 3,424 drivers have been arrested for DUI as of November 7th.

• 36% of fatal crashes in 2016 have involved an impaired driver.

• 600+ drivers have been involved in cell phone use-related crashes from 2012 to 2015.

“Our previous campaigns with Carvertise have proven very successful and we are excited to get this campaign “on the road” – pun intended,” said Jana Simpler, Director of OHS.

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