JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Project Roadblock 2016 is officially under way. It's a nationwide campaign to prevent people from drinking and driving through the holiday season.
WJXT is a proud supporter of the campaign, which runs from Dec. 26-31 -- one of the deadliest weeks of the year for auto fatalities.
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Since its inception in 2004, Project Roadblock said it's seen a 40 percent reduction in drunk driving deaths per day over the Christmas holiday period. It said it's also seen a 28 percent reduction in drunk driving deaths per day over the New Year's holiday period.
Its main message is "buzzed driving is drunk driving" and encourages people to designate a sober driver if they're going to drink at all.
Project Roadblock says 10,265 people were killed on the roadways due to impaired driving in 2015, or about one of every three deaths in vehicle fatalities. There were 797 fatal crashes in Florida last year attributed to alcohol impairment; 366 in Georgia.
The Ad Council released two videos that you may see on television during the course of the campaign to spread the message that "buzzed driving is drunk driving."
A drunk driving arrest can cost you $10,000 in legal fees, court costs and higher insurance rates, according to Project Roadblock.
Project Roadblock is sponsored by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the Ad Council and TVB, which is the not-for-profit trade association of America's commercial broadcast television industry.