South Dakota: Bars and Restaurants Help Prevent Drunk Driving

Dec.19, 2007 -- Pierre, SD - More than 25 bars and restaurants statewide are giving their patrons a message they hope will stick.

This Saturday, establishments in South Dakota's Pierre, Keystone, Rapid City, Rockerville, Sioux Falls, Watertown, and Yankton are distributing “don’t drink and drive” sticky notes to customers when they deliver their bills.

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“When a customer gets their bill, there’ll be a note attached that says ‘friends don’t let friends drive drunk’,” said Colonel Dan Mosteller, South Dakota Highway Patrol. “The sticky note effort is one we tried last summer, and I guess you could say it’s back by popular demand. We received a really positive response, so we expanded the program for the holiday.”

The effort is part of the “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.” campaign that runs through the end of month. The Department of Public Safety, Volunteers of America Dakotas, Growing up Together, Rapid City / Pennington County Alcohol and Drug Program, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Lewis and Clark Behavioral Health, the Watertown Human Service Agency, and the Watertown Police Department along with more than 25 bars and restaurants made this effort possible.

“We’re excited to have so many partners helping to spread the ‘don’t drink and drive’ message. Hopefully, the notes will be a non-intrusive way of reminding people to find a sober ride,” said Col. Mosteller.

As part of the “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.” campaign, the South Dakota Highway Patrol also scheduled nearly 20 sobriety checkpoints and another 20 DUI and speeding saturation patrols between mid-December and New Year’s Day.

Source: South Dakota Public Information Office