The Delaware Office of Highway Safety Announces “Safe Summer Roads 23” Campaign

DOVER, Del. (May 24, 2023) — As the days grow longer and the temperatures get warmer, Delawareans and tourists are eager to travel to the Delaware attractions for the upcoming summer season. The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is launching its Safe Summer Roads Campaign ahead of the Memorial Day holiday to remind motorists to obey the traffic laws and pedestrians to practice safe walking habits.

OHS will be implementing this campaign from May 25 to September 4 and is continuing to partner with the Delaware State Police and local law enforcement to conduct high-visibility enforcements. Summer DUI patrols will be from May 25 to July 4, speed from June 18 to July 17, and occupant protection and distracted driving from June 16 to August 19. Additional educational and awareness mobilizations will be utilized for pedestrian safety.

“Our Safe Summer Roads campaign focuses on the contributing factors that occur during fatality and serious injury crashes on Delaware roadways during the summer months.” Said Richard Klepner, Deputy Director, Delaware Office of Highway Safety. “We encourage roadways users to stay focused on the task of driving/walking. Never drive impaired or distracted, follow speed limits, and properly use a seat belt. Additionally, drivers are reminded of increased pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorcyclist activities requiring your full attention behind the wheel.”

This campaign addresses the leading causes of summertime crashes in Delaware: driving under the influence, pedestrian safety, speeding, and distracted driving. To ensure messaging reaches the right audience in the right places, OHS partners with many organizations and stakeholders such as nonprofits, homeless shelters, faith-based organizations, insurance companies, cell phone providers, and restaurants, who all are working to reduce serious injury and fatal crashes and want you to Arrive Alive.

Here are a few key points OHS would like everyone to remember when walking or driving this summer season:

• If your summer plans include drinking, make sure to plan for a sober ride home. Use a rideshare service, use public transportation, or call a friend or family member to get you home safely.
• When planning to walk to and from events, remember to wear bright or reflective clothing and or items to make yourself as visible as possible. Motorists should be aware of the increased pedestrian activity, especially in the beach areas.
• SLOW DOWN. Make sure you follow the posted speed limit signs, the greater the speed, the less control you have and the higher the severity of the crash.
• If you are struggling to not text and drive, use the “do not disturb” feature on your phone or store it away in the glove box, back seat, or trunk of your car. Out of sight out of mind.
• Always ensure everyone in your vehicle is using the proper occupant protection such as seat belts and child restraints. During June through August of 2022, 85% of persons involved in crashes who were properly restrained had no injuries. That number dropped to 43% when the person involved in a crash was not buckled up.

Delaware Statistics: Summertime Crashes

• Impaired driving: Over the last five years, DUI crashes are the highest from June to August in Delaware.
• Speeding: In 2022, there were 162 crashes related to speed statewide.
• Pedestrian safety: In 2022, 33 pedestrians were killed as a result of a traffic crash.
• Seat belt neglect: Historically, the summer months have been the worst for unrestrained crashes. 27% of crashes occurring between June and August and 10% happening in July alone.
• Distracted driving: A person who drives distracted is fifty times more likely to cause a crash than a driver under the influence of alcohol. Approximately 37% of Delaware’s crashes can be attributed at least in part to distracted driving in 2022.

Community Engagements:

• We continue to team up with our public transportation partner, DART, to sponsor the free public Wi-Fi including a pop-up advertisement reminding bus riders when they become a pedestrian to “Walk Bright”. During planned activations, Zoey Glowey will also be making appearances around the state this summer.
• The Waze app will show a message to drivers when they are stopped to remind them to “keep an eye out for pedestrians”.
• The OHS team and the crashed car will be out at the following locations:
  • Tanger Outlets, Seaside, GAP, Rehoboth – Saturday, July 22 & Sunday, July 23
  • Concord Mall, T-Mobile – Saturday, August 5
  • AT&T, Dover – Saturday, August 19

For more information on the campaign, statistics, and education visit ArriveAliveDE.com.

About the Delaware Office of Highway Safety
The Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is committed to improving the safety of Delaware’s motoring public by focusing on behavioral traffic safety issues, such as impaired driving, seat belt use, speeding, child passenger safety, pedestrian and bicycle safety, motorcycle safety, and teen driving issues. FAQs can be found at ArriveAliveDE.com. Follow OHS on the Delaware Office of Highway Safety website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.