Competition Aimed at Curbing Underage Drinking and Drinking and Driving

Connecticut DOT Announces “Drink-Drive-Lose Ad Challenge”

NEWINGTON, CONN./January 25, 2005 – The Connecticut Department of Transportation is calling upon Connecticut’s youth to help in the fight against underage drinking and underage drinking and driving. The Connecticut DOT today announced the “Drink-Drive-Lose Ad Challenge”, a statewide competition for those under 21 to create advertising that encourages their peers to refrain from drinking as well as driving under the influence.

“When it comes to underage drinking and drinking and driving, there’s no question that we have a significant and widespread problem not only in Connecticut but across the country,” says Stephen E. Korta, Connecticut DOT Commissioner. “With an issue that is largely fueled by peer pressure, we’re hoping to turn that peer pressure around by having young adults use their creative talents to positively influence their peers to be responsible and safe.”

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), every year more than 13 million underage youth consume alcohol in the United States, and in any given month 47 percent of high school students consume at least one alcoholic drink on one or more occasions and 30 percent consume five or more alcoholic drinks in a row. In addition, a study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) revealed that more than 1,400 college students die from unintentional alcohol-related injuries, nearly 80 percent of those deaths result from motor vehicle crashes.

The “Drink-Drive-Lose Ad Challenge” is being conducted by DOT in partnership with state and local law enforcement, the Connecticut Association of Schools and Clear Channel Radio’s WKSS-FM and WPHH-FM. The contest is designed to empower young adults to have a say on this important issue and create communications pieces urging their peers to refrain from drinking and from drinking and driving. The competition includes four categories: print piece (posters, billboards, print advertisements), radio advertisement, television commercial and Flash presentation.

Young adults between the ages of 14 and 20 who live or attend school in Connecticut are eligible to enter the “Drink-Drive-Lose Ad Challenge.” Those interested in entering the competition should visit www.drink-drive-lose.com for additional information. Deadlines for entries are March 11 for print pieces and radio ads; and March 25 for television ads and Flash pieces.

Contest winners will be determined by a two-tiered online voting process. Once all entries are posted online, the general public may view them and cast votes to determine finalists in each category. A panel of DOT officials, law enforcement officials, educators, advertising professionals and media representatives will select the winners from the pool of finalists.

The “Drink-Drive-Lose Ad Challenge” is an extension of an aggressive communications campaign launched by the DOT in 2003 and funded by a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The ongoing campaign is designed to reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes and fatalities in Connecticut by educating the public about the consequences of driving under the influence and alerting the public to heightened law enforcement efforts. For more information, please visit www.drink-drive-lose.com.

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