DWI TASK FORCE: Dallas County offers “Keys to a Safe Start”
and new PSA

Commissioners Court: Tuesday, November 15, 2011

By: Maria Arita, Public Information Officer / Community Liaison, Dallas County

Today Dallas County Commissioner Elba Garcia announced a resolution recognizing the DWI Task Force established by Commissioners Court, as a force for legislation and public education for tougher laws and enforcement as well as prosecution of DWI violators.  A new and powerful PSA was debuted which demonstrates the catastrophic and life-long damage to families as a result of drinking and driving. In the delivery of her resolution to the Court, Commissioner Garcia said “…We just wanted to recognize and thank our hard-working and committed members of the DWI Task Force. With the holiday season coming … the task force is working to increase public awareness of the legal and personal costs of DWI.  I think our new website will be a good starting point for people to become educated and gain tools to help fight this problem...”

The Task Force has also historically worked in partnership with the Dallas County Independent School Districts, charter schools and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with campaigns to educate children about the dangers of drinking and driving and to help reduce underage drinking. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins added “Driving is a privilege and if, through this task force, we can stop just one drunk driver from harming others on the road then it’s worth it.  As we raise awareness of the devastation caused by drinking and driving, we are confident that our traffic fatalities as a result of drinking and driving will continue to go down.  I promise you – anyone who watches this PSA will be greatly affected by it; that’s our hope. We are proud of Commissioner Garcia’s leadership in this effort.”

Under Commissioner Garcia’s leadership as Chair of the task force it will unveil its first website, http://dwitaskforce.org on November 22nd.  The public is invited to visit the website, add the task force to their Facebook and Twitter contact list and share their DWI stories.