Montgomery County Departments of Liquor Control and Police Announce Relaunch of “I/We Take It Personally;” Public Awareness Campaign to Prevent Drunk Driving and Patron Over-Consumption

For Immediate Release: Monday, September 24, 2018

County Executive Isiah Leggett today joined Director of the Department of Liquor Control Robert Dorfman, Chief of Police J. Thomas Manger, and other officials at a press conference to relaunch the County’s “I/We Take It Personally” public awareness campaign. The goals of this nationally-recognized campaign promote personal involvement to help prevent drunk driving, discourage patron over-consumption, and confirms the personal commitment of public safety officers who are enforcing drunk driving laws.

 

“Alcohol-related crashes are totally preventable if we all make a personal commitment to not getting behind the wheel after drinking, and not over-serving guests and customers who are consuming alcohol,” said Leggett. “We can do this and we must do this, because even one drunk driving injury or death is too many.”

 

Also participating in the event were: County Councilmember Sidney Katz, Director of the Montgomery County Department of Police Traffic Division Captain Thomas Didone, Retired National CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving MADD Charles Hurley representing Noah on Patrol, and President of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) Kurt Erickson

 

“The Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control is a significant revenue generator for the County but the most important function of the DLC is public safety. We encourage anyone consuming alcohol to plan out a safe ride home,” said Robert Dorfman, director of the DLC. “To encourage that, we’ve put messaging on our delivery trucks and vans. This is part of a larger effort working with bars and restaurants to saturate the County with tools and messaging to remind servers and patrons that we should all take drunk driving and over-service personally. It’s up to all of us to make the right choices to keep our community safe.”

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The next public step of the campaign, originally introduced in the summer of 2017, features 30 DLC delivery trucks and two vans “wrapped” with a police anti-drunk driving message poster. The program encourages people who are going out and consuming alcohol to plan a safe ride home. This effort supports the County’s Vision Zero initiative to reduce severe and fatal collisions among vehicle occupants, bicyclists and pedestrians. 

 

“These ‘We Take It Personally’ signs are going to be seen on County roads for a good long time, but our plans to enforce the drunk-driving laws have no expiration date,” said Chief Manger. “For our goal of keeping drunk drivers off the road to be effective, I sincerely hope that you will take it personally too.”  

 

 

To further support their message, the DLC and MCPD have also partnered with the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), well known for its popular free cab ride service for would-be drunk drivers, SoberRide®; and “Noah On Patrol” founded to commemorate and further the ideals of fallen MCP Officer Noah Leotta, who was killed in 2015 as he was conducting drunk driving enforcement.

 

The continuation of the campaign will also focus on bars and restaurants by getting the safety message on signage, ID checking tools, waist aprons, drink coasters and bar tools. The campaign includes a social media push using the hashtag #ITakeItPersonally.

 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that every day 28 people in the United States die in an alcohol-related vehicle crash. That’s one person every 53 minutes. The chances of being in an alcohol-impaired crash is one in three over a lifetime. These deaths and damages contribute to a cost of 52 billion dollars per year.

 

Last year, the nationally-recognized public service ad campaign included messaging on 40 Ride On busses, bus shelters, and within the 27 County liquor stores and private establishments serving alcohol. Police Officer-themed fliers were also distributed in retail establishments, law enforcement agencies, and other County public facilities such as libraries, recreation centers, and regional services centers.

 

The I Take It Personally campaign is funded by a grant awarded to the DLC from the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA). More information about the campaign is available on the DLC website[DE1] .

           

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Media Contacts: Department of Liquor Control: Emily DeTitta, 240-777-1904

                            Department of Police: Lucille Baur, 240-777-6547

 

 

 

Release ID: 18-678
Media Contact: Lucille Baur 240-876-5530, Emily DeTitta 240-777-1904