By James FitzPatrick

Contributing Writer for Shore Local Newsmagazine

(December 22, 2022) – What if you could give your friends and family a holiday gift that is as fun as a night on the town, costs almost nothing, yet is as precious as life itself?

It’s easy. All it takes is a few clicks online and a commitment to take the HERO Designated Driver Pledge.

It’s the season when social calendars are packed with happy gatherings that often involve the consumption of alcohol. People will be drinking beer for the Eagles vs. Cowboys on Christmas Eve, wine and eggnog at Mom’s Christmas dinner, or champagne at the neighborhood New Year’s Eve party. Celebrations can turn into tragedy if the participants fail to plan ahead for their transportation or make poor choices about who’s drinking and who’s driving.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), crashes involving an impaired driver killed 937 people in December 2020 alone. Nationwide, drunk driving-involved crashes kill more than 11,000 people each year.

In all of 2021, 697 people were killed in traffic crashes in New Jersey; 125 of those fatalities were due to a drunk driver, according to the state Division Highway Traffic Safety. By getting behind the wheel while alcohol or drug impaired, you risk lives, not to mention arrest and severe penalties which can include loss of license, heavy fines, and even imprisonment.

The good news is, the story doesn’t have to end that way. Lives can be saved when people make good choices and there’s plenty of support available for those who are willing to make a small sacrifice to ensure their safety and the safety of others.

In South Jersey, and growing throughout the region, is a movement to make drunk and impaired driving a thing of the past, and designated drivers as automatic as wearing a seatbelt.

Most area residents have probably heard of the HERO Campaign. It was launched in 2000 after the tragic death of Navy Ensign John R. Elliott of Egg Harbor Township, who was killed by a drunk driver just two months after his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy. HERO was created by his parents, Bill and Muriel Elliott, who were determined to turn their tragedy into an opportunity to help others.

 Read the full Shore Local Newsmagazine article here and pledge to be a designated driver today!

About the HERO Campaign:

The HERO Campaign was established by the family of Navy Ensign John R. Elliott of Egg Harbor Township, NJ, who was killed in a July 2000 collision with a drunk driver two months after graduating from the United States Naval Academy. The Campaign is now saving lives in seven states in partnership with law enforcement; schools and colleges; federal and state highway safety organizations; the licensed beverage industry; professional sports teams including the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Football Giants, the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution; Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby; and Keeneland Race Course, home of the 2015 Breeder’s Cup. Since its inception in 2000, the HERO Campaign has grown into a major movement to prevent impaired driving that has received national recognition and awards. It has also helped to reduce alcohol-related fatalities and incidents, including a 35 percent reduction in DUI fatalities in New Jersey and other states over the past decade. For more information visit HEROcampaign.org or call 609-626-3880.

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