DOT: To avoid a drunken driving arrest or crash, designate before you celebrate on New Year’s Eve

MILWAUKEE -- Although no one really knows what the new year will bring, everyone who will be out celebrating on Thursday night can take steps to make sure 2016 doesn’t start with a drunken driving arrest or crash.

To combat drunken driving, law enforcement agencies across the state will be out in force for the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, which runs until Sunday, January 3.

“Enforcement and educational efforts to prevent drunken driving, like the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, have helped reduce deaths from alcohol-related crashes by approximately 51 percent and injuries by 55 percent over the last 10 years in Wisconsin,” says David Pabst, director of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s (WisDOT) Bureau of Transportation Safety.

As a reminder of the dangers of drunken driving, electronic message signs on major highways will display “A New Year’s resolution—Drive Sober” on December 31 and January 1.

To help prevent drunken driving, WisDOT offers a free Zero In Wisconsin Drive Sober mobile app, which includes:


    Since its launch two years ago, more than 66,000 people have downloaded the Zero In Wisconsin Drive Sober app. Free downloads of the app are available at: www.zeroinwisconsin.gov/resources/.

    In addition to choosing a designated driver before your New Year’s Eve celebration begins, WisDOT’s Division of State Patrol offers the following advice: