NHTSA Launches Anti-Drug Driving Campaign Ahead of Labor Day Weekend

The Tombras Group has launched a new campaign for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launches today ahead of Labor Day weekend - one of the deadliest weekends for drunk driving related crashes according to NHTSA. 

This campaign marks the first narrative from the NHTSA on the subject. In context of the wider national and international (Canada) conversations on marijuana legalisation, this is the only public messaging from the US government to date. 

“With the legalisation of marijuana across many states and the rise of rampant opioid and other narcotic use and abuse, it was critical we expand the impaired driving message,” says Dooley Tombras, president of the Tombras Group.

“I’m so proud to launch this new campaign today with the support of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, the U.S. DOT, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and our law enforcement and safety partners across the country,” adds deputy administrator Heidi King. “A driver’s judgment and ability to react are both impaired when driving high, but many drivers don’t realise that it’s dangerous and illegal. People with impaired judgment do not make good decisions about whether they are fit to drive. Driving either drunk or high is a DUI; impairment is impairment.”

The new safety campaign will, for the first time, build on national efforts to combat the emerging trend of drug-impaired driving with campaign messaging: ‘If You Feel Different, You Drive Different. Drive High, Get a DUI’. 

It will run through the Labor Day holiday weekend (Aug. 15-Sept. 3), part of a push to remind drivers all over the country that driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is illegal, and will launch across national TV, radio and digital ads. 

This marks the 13th year in a row NHTSA has partnered with Knoxville-based The Tombras Group on its annual campaign.