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Text messaging campaign draws 5,800 users
By From staff reports
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EmailMarch 11. 2010 6:00AM
More than 5,800 people across South Dakota have signed up to receive sobriety checkpoint information through the text messaging feature of the Act Civilized initiative.
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety launched the text messaging campaign in March of 2009, just one year ago, as part of the Act Civilized initiative, a program making the point that drunk driving is unacceptable behavior. The Department distributes Highway Patrol sobriety checkpoint schedules, safe ride home reminders, and taxi numbers directly to people's cell phones.
"The goal is to encourage people to think twice about drinking and driving,'' said James Carpenter, Director of the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety. "We want people to get the alerts and the information about safe rides home. The text messages are getting that information,
quite literally, into the hands of more than 5,800 South Dakotans."
Sobriety checkpoints are an attempt to raise awareness of the dangers of drunk driving, not to arrest as many people as possible, Carpenter said.
"By providing people information about drunk driving enforcement activity, we hope to influence them to make responsible decisions and avoid drunk driving,'' he said. "Text messaging delivers that information when those people need it most.''
Text messages are part of a broader campaign centered on the Act Civilized theme. Television, radio, billboard and in-store messages are used to portray drunk driving as primitive and socially unacceptable behavior.
People may sign up to receive sobriety checkpoint text messages by visiting www.actcivilized.com.
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety launched the text messaging campaign in March of 2009, just one year ago, as part of the Act Civilized initiative, a program making the point that drunk driving is unacceptable behavior. The Department distributes Highway Patrol sobriety checkpoint schedules, safe ride home reminders, and taxi numbers directly to people's cell phones.
"The goal is to encourage people to think twice about drinking and driving,'' said James Carpenter, Director of the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety. "We want people to get the alerts and the information about safe rides home. The text messages are getting that information,
quite literally, into the hands of more than 5,800 South Dakotans."
Sobriety checkpoints are an attempt to raise awareness of the dangers of drunk driving, not to arrest as many people as possible, Carpenter said.
"By providing people information about drunk driving enforcement activity, we hope to influence them to make responsible decisions and avoid drunk driving,'' he said. "Text messaging delivers that information when those people need it most.''
Text messages are part of a broader campaign centered on the Act Civilized theme. Television, radio, billboard and in-store messages are used to portray drunk driving as primitive and socially unacceptable behavior.
People may sign up to receive sobriety checkpoint text messages by visiting www.actcivilized.com.
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