Louisiana parents and their teenage children may want to watch for new public service announcements that will appear both online and on television. The PSAs will focus on the dangers posed by underage drinking and driving and will appear nation-wide.
The PSAs are the result of a concerted campaign by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in partnership with the Ad Council. The ads are designed to catch the attention of teenagers and refer to underage drinking and driving as “the ultimate party foul.” Reportedly, all of the ads were shot using iPhones and depict scenes of young people spilling drinks, falling and contrast those party fouls with the much more dangerous drunk driving.
The new public service campaign comes as the NHTSA points to data showing that 25 percent of teens involved in fatal crashes had alcohol in their systems at the time. Automobile accidents are the leading cause of teenage death in the U.S., and in half of those fatal accidents, the teen who is killed is also the driver of the involved vehicle. Past successful campaigns put out by NHTSA and the Ad Council include the “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” and the “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving” campaigns. The result of those campaigns was an increase from 38 percent to 47 percent of teenagers reporting they would find another ride or take a taxi instead of driving after drinking from 2005 to 2013.
When a minor causes a car accident after drinking and then getting behind the wheel, injured victims may seek recovery through filing a personal injury lawsuit with the assistance of an attorney. In some cases, the minor’s parent may also be named as a defendant to the lawsuit.