Drugs & Driving, A Call to Action

In 2014 and 2015, Hawaii fatalities involving drugs were almost equal to those involving alcohol. Drug related fatality statistics are based on either drugs alone or a combination of drugs and alcohol in the body. The combination is very common and especially impairing. Drug-impaired driving among youth is an extremely serious problem as the combination of impairment and a lack of driving experience increase the risk of being involved in a collision. Because of this growing concern in 2018 MADD Hawaii implemented a 2-phase program. The first initiative was an awareness campaign that targeted youth ages 18 to 23. The second initiative was a statewide conference – with a focus on education, prevention and collaboration. We gathered the resources generated from this project and share them on this web page.

Community Awareness Campaign primary target audience ages 18 to 23

Our youth ambassadors designed a social media campaign that consisted of an Instagram (808madd) video with a call to action to watch and share the video and or make one yourself to share. They developed a fact sheet with a link to MADD Nationals Drugs and Driving Statics page. They also designed a number sticker and window cling, #SteerClear to be distributed at events where youth of this age gather.

 

Watch the video made by our youth and young adult volunteers here. Follow these steps to make your own video on Instagram.

During Nov. 21 – 25, 2018 Thanksgiving Weekend 45,761 people were reached, 79,807 impressions were made and 5,360 people watched entire 1-minute video. Mahalo to our Youth Ambassadors for kicking off the campaign. Our Call to Action – make and share your own video!

Here is a link to the National MADD webpage (click on the drugged driving tab) where you will find accurate facts about Drug Impaired Driving. Watch the video below to see how it’s done!

Mahalo to the Bennet Group for developing the campaign and working with the ambassadors for the social media campaign and the lunch panel at the conference.

Conference Drugs & Driving, A Call to Action

The Hawaii chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) hosted a conference on Thursday October 11, 2018 at the Queens Conference Center. Following the recommended next steps list are links to conference materials and resources that will inform and assist you as you join us to fight drug impaired driving – a growing concern in Hawaii.

 

MADD Hawaii convened just over 100 working professionals from the fields of law enforcement, the judicial system, education, youth services, public health, insurance, medical, drug prevention and treatment and elected officials. After a morning of presentations from 3 panels – The National Landscape (4 mainland experts), The Local Scene (8 local professionals) and Inspiring Youth Engagement (panel of youth) the attendees spent the afternoon in facilitated sessions developing the following recommendations listed below. Some are intended for MADD Hawaii to follow up on, but most involve the full community.

  1. Continue to engage youth in the conversation and development of future activities (leverage social media, personal videos, stories)
  2. Shape messages and conversations so target audiences (18-28 year olds) listen and act (Remember: It Takes a Village, “Did You Know” rebrand/rework some of MADD messages, adapt MADD Power of Parents
  3. Develop and ensure best practices for capturing and sharing data from various sources (Hospitals, Department of Health & Department of Transportation)
  4. Propose legislation amending the definition of drugs to include a substance that can impair a person
  5. Ensure Law Enforcement and the Courts have the resources needed to arrest and prosecute drug impaired driving offenders (e.g.oral fluid and blood lab for drug testing; increase advanced training for police officers state-wide)
  6. Research best practices worldwide to reduce impaired driving and analyze the results for those that are most applicable in Hawaii
  7. Ensure existing coalition groups working on traffic safety and youth education are working synergistically; increase community awareness of their work
  8. Suggest that interested individuals and communitygroups outside of MADD form a coalition to oppose legalization of recreational marijuana

Conference Handouts and Resources

Mahalo to Queens Conference Center and Ed Tsang for filming and editing the above videos.

Guest Speaker Power Points and Handouts
Staci Hoff, PhD, Washington Traffic Safety Commission
Staci Hoff, PhD, Resource List
Chief Robert Ticer, Loveland Police Dept., Colorado
Michael Sandoval, New Mexico Dept. of Transportation NOTE: at this time the videos do not play in this ppt, we are working on a fix; you may watch the videos in the video above when Mr. Sandoval does his presentation.
Dan Galanis, PhD, Epidemiologist, Hawaii Dept. of Health-Injury Prevention & Control Program
Inspiring Youth Engagement, Panel Description, Questions & Answers

Additional Data and Resources
Hawaii Statutes-Driving Under the Influence of an Intoxicant
Hawaii Data about Drugs and Driving, Hawaii Dept. of Transportation, 2014-2017
Drug Impaired Driving Blueprint, Hawaii Dept. of Transportation, Oct. 2018
The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado: The Impact, Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Strategic Intelligence Unit, Sept. 2018
Transportation Study-Drug Impaired Driving pages, Hawaii Dept. of Transportation, Nov. 2018