TEAM Georgia Launches 2011 Safe Holiday Campaign

In the spirit of celebrating safely this season, TEAM Georgia, a safe and sober transportation coalition and partner of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS), launched its 2011 Safe Holiday Campaign on Thursday with a public education message and keynote address by a victim of impaired driving.

This year’s TEAM Georgia Safe Holiday program, presented at the , provides a guide with tips to celebrate safely and legal reminders for partygoers as well as a free ride home this holiday season.

Area bars and restaurants, including in Smyrna, will help the campaign reach thousands of Georgians by displaying TEAM Georgia’s Safe Holiday Guide, offering a free non-alcoholic drink to designated drivers and training wait staff to advise intoxicated patrons of the free ride home from Checker Cab and the Budweiser/AAA “Tow to Go” service.

Through Jan. 2, any intoxicated person anywhere in Georgia can get themselves and their car home free by calling 1-800-AAA-HELP. Also in the metro Atlanta area, for a safe and free ride home ask your server to call you a Checker Cab at 404-351-1111. 

“TEAM Georgia wants to ensure that the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year by promoting safe and responsible celebrations,” said Ron Fennel, chairman of TEAM Georgia.

Through a GOHS grant, TEAM Georgia has put particular emphasis on outreach to Atlanta’s burgeoning Latino community, one of the most at-risk populations for impaired driving. TEAM has made all of its Safe Holiday materials available in Spanish.

To underscore the tragic mix of drinking and driving, Mrs. Joél Samuels-Esson delivered the keynote address Thursday about losing her husband, Christopher Jermone Esson, who was killed by a drunk driver while traveling from New York back home to Georgia.

Harris Blackwood, Georgia Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, also spoke about the critical need to stay safe during this season of great celebration.

Unfortunately, the public continues to need education. The Georgia State Patrol reports increasing numbers of DUI arrests in recent years, with 14,629 arrests made in 2009, up from 11,812 in 2008 and 1,278 in 2007.

Crashes involving impaired driving are six times more likely to be fatal than those that do not involve alcohol and other drugs, according to GOHS, which says that one out of three fatal crashes in Georgia over the last decade involved impaired drivers.

TEAM Georgia Safe Holiday is sponsored by Budweiser, AAA Auto Club South, Checker Cab, WXIA 11 Alive and WSB Radio and supported by the Georgia Restaurant Association.

TEAM Georgia is a nonprofit organization comprised of concerned businesses, individual supporters and public safety officials. For more information on the Safe Holiday Campaign, contact TEAM Georgia at 404-261-6053 or visit www.teamgeorgia.net.