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DU is partnering with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to educate students about the dangers and costs of drinking and driving.
More than 500 posters and chalk drawings have dotted the concrete and walls from Buchtel Boulevard to Harvard Avenue. The effort represents a $30,000 campaign at six Colorado college campuses. Public service announcements and spots at sporting events are part of the prevent DUI endeavor.
“We wanted to focus on the pure costs of a DUI,” said Heather Halpape, manager for Safety Programs with CDOT. “Conveying the financial costs can get the attention of students who are already preoccupied with tuition, books and other living costs.”
According to the campaign’s Web site, duiwillcostu.com, getting arrested for driving drunk can lead to personal expenses of approximately $10,270. This includes the costs of detoxification, legal fees, probation supervision and victim assistance.
Halpape said driving when drunk causes physical and emotional harm in addition to financial costs.
“It gets a student thinking about the impact a DUI will have, not only financially but for the future,” she said.
Jobs, internships, even interviews depend heavily on an individual’s conduct and potential employers conduct background checks.
DUI violations are highest in the 18-34 age group. The “DUI Will Cost U” initiative aims for an innovative approach to educate students about the risks of drinking and driving.
“I think advocating the financial side of it is unique,” said Pete Birmingham, graduate student. “Money means a lot to those who have little of it, and the novelty of the information makes it more potent.”
The campaign is part of a statewide effort to curb DUI arrests and fatalities. It follows the state’s recent DUI crackdown, which saw an increase in DUI enforcement officers on Denver’s streets this past summer.
Officers arrested more than 1,500 DUI offenders, Halpape said.
As the initiative comes to its end and the chalk begins to fade, CDOT—with those who have shouldered the costs of drunk driving all too personally—hopes that the message has been made.
