Substance Abuse Free Environment Inc. (SAFE), a community coalition serving Chesterfield County, receives grant funding from the Virginia Highway Safety Office to reduce drug and alcohol related crashes among 16-25 year olds in Chesterfield County. According to the DMV, Virginia’s Highway Safety Office, there were 222 alcohol-related injuries and 46 alcohol-related fatalities in Chesterfield County from 2018 to 2022, including 55 alcohol-related injuries and 7 alcohol-related fatalities of which involving 16-25 year olds. SAFE has been awarded a highway safety grant through Virginia’s Highway Safety Office since the fiscal year 2016. The grant has and will support efforts to reduce alcohol-related crashes in Chesterfield County.
SAFE Drug Impaired Driving Work Group
The DID Work Group of Substance Abuse Free Environment (SAFE) is making a difference in Chesterfield County by educating their peers and adults in our communities about the risks of drug and alcohol impaired driving.
If you are not yet a member of SAFE’s DID Work Group and would like to be, please call or text 804-930-4713 or email [email protected].
New SAFE DID Education Resources!
SAFE conducted a focus group with Chesterfield students to gain insight on behaviors and perspectives of impaired driving in Chesterfield County. In partnership with a graphic designer, two new originally designed brochures were created to educate Chesterfield youth and parents on the dangers, consequences, and prevalence of alcohol and drug impaired driving. Check out the new brochures below, and reach out to us if you are interested in obtaining copies!
SAFE DID Local Data Brochure 2023 final
New Media Campaign!
From 2023-2024, SAFE worked with Mnemonics to create two new PSA campaigns! The first is entitled, “Unboxing the Hard Facts”, focusing on educating young adults under 21 about the Zero Tolerance Law. The second campaign is entitled, “Sober Media”, depicting a safe choice of choosing to not drive under the influence. The 2024-2025 DMV grant cycle is SAFE’s first year running these PSA campaigns. Both can be viewed in the links below.
Local DUI Data
Chesterfield County DUID/Arrest Data
SAFE coordinated with CCPD to obtain local drug impaired driving arrest and crash data.
From October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024, a total of 922 DUI arrests were made. The highest months with DUI arrests were May (95), October (87), and December (83). This includes a total of 171 female DUI arrests, with the following subsets: 68 Black, 26 Hispanic, and 76 White. In addition, a total of 740 male DUI arrests were made, with the following subsets: 187 Black, 315 Hispanic, and 227 White. In comparison, from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023, a total of 1,166 DUI arrests were collected. The highest months were: November and December with 111 each month, October with 109, and February and June with 108 each. This includes a total of 239 female DUI arrests, with the following subsets: 100 Black, 26 Hispanic, and 112 White. In addition, a total of 927 male DUI arrests were made, with the following subsets: 229 Black, 410 Hispanic, and 269 White. Note, that these data numbers account for all ages.
From October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024, a total of 194 DUI arrests were made among 16-25 year olds, with the highest months of arrests in September (22), January (20), and May (19). This included a total of 31 female 16-25 year old DUI arrests, with the following subsets: 14 Black, 9 Hispanic, and 8 White. In addition, a total of 163 male 16-25-year-old DUI arrests were made, with the following subsets: 34 Black, 88 Hispanic, and 37 White. In comparison, from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023, a total of 241 DUI arrests were made among 16-25 year olds, with the highest months in October (28), December (25), and November and April (23 each). This included a total of 45 female 16-25 year old DUI arrests, with the following subsets included: 12 Black, 10 Hispanic, and 23 White. In addition, a total of 196 male 16-25 year old DUI arrests, with the following subsets included: 25 Black, 126 Hispanic, and 41 White.
This data shows an overall 20.9% decrease in DUI arrests for all ages, including a 28.5% decrease in female and 20.2%% decrease in male DUI arrests. Additionally, this data shows an overall 19.5% decrease in 16-25 year old DUI arrests, including a 31.1% decrease in female and 16.8% decrease in males.
SAFE’s “Before You Take It To-Go, Here Are Some Things You Should Know” Brochure
EBI brochure English 2024 final
SAFE has partnered with Chesterfield County Community Department to host an Establishment Brochure Initiative. in which an alcohol-impaired driving prevention brochure titled, “Before You Take It To-Go, Here Are Some Things You Should Know” was distributed to local establishments in Chesterfield County to include in their take-out orders. This brochure (printed in both English and Spanish) includes information about alcohol-impaired driving laws, and consequences one would face if choosing to drive while impaired. A total of 100 English establishments accepted the brochures, distributing a total of 10,000 English brochures. In addition, 30 Spanish-speaking establishments accepted the brochures, distributing a total of 6,000 brochures.
SAFE Teen Resources
DMV data in Chesterfield County shows there were 306 alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2020, 332 in 2021, and 329 in 2022. Of these crashes,16-25 year olds contributed to 106 (35%) of crashes in 2020, 110 (33%) crashes in 2021, and 131 (40%) crashes in 2022.
Local DUI arrest data among all ages shows a total of 1,171 arrests in 2021, 1,301 arrests in 2022, and a total of 1,058 in 2023. Among this data, the following arrests were made for 16-25 year olds, 239 (or 20%) in 2021, 292 (or 22%) in 2022, and 210 (or 20%) in 2023.
Designate Before You Celebrate
Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP)
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD)
Virginia Cannabis Control Authority
Traffic Safety Marketing (TSM)
Youth of Virginia Speak Out (YOVASO)
Virginia Driver Education and Traffic Safety (VADETS)
Partners for Safe Teen Driving
CarSafetyNow.org -Teen and Young Driver Safety
Previously Aired PSA Campaign: LOSE
In 2022, SAFE conducted a focus group session consisting of males between the ages of 16-29 years old who had previous experience with substance abuse and were part of a behavioral skills building group. Following the contributions from this focus group, SAFE worked with GMMB to create a new PSA, focusing on the participants’ thoughts regarding preventing drug-impaired driving and substance abuse. GMMB created the new “Lose” PSA in English and Spanish, both timed at 0:15 and 0:30. The 2023-2024 DMV grant cycle is SAFE’s second year running this PSA campaign. The PSA can be viewed at the below link.
“Lose”
Drunk or High? Don’t Drive!
SAFE DMV Young Adult Survey
SAFE has conducted the 2024 Young Adult Survey to collect data on the behavior, opinions and perceptions of substance use of 16-25 year olds in Chesterfield County. You can find the results under the “How We Know” -> “Young Adult Survey” tab!