National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, 2014

Vol. 79

Wednesday,

No. 232

December 3, 2014

Part V

The President

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Proclamation 9215--National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, 2014

Proclamation 9216--World AIDS Day, 2014

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 9215 of December 3, 2014

National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

All Americans deserve to live long and full lives, and
every child should have the chance to seize his or her
future. But throughout our Nation, too many lives are
tragically cut short in traffic crashes involving
drunk, drugged, or distracted driving. Impaired driving
not only puts the driver at risk--it threatens the
lives of passengers and all others who share the road,
and every year it causes the deaths of thousands of
loved ones. This month, and especially during the
holiday season, we dedicate ourselves to driving safely
and responsibly, and to promoting these behaviors among
our family and friends.

Alcohol and drugs can impair perception, judgment,
motor skills, and memory--the skills critical for safe
and responsible driving. And as mobile technology
becomes ubiquitous, the distractions of texting and
cell phone use continue to pose grave dangers on our
roadways. Deaths caused by impaired driving are
preventable and unacceptable, and my Administration is
taking action to reduce and eliminate them. We continue
to support the law enforcement officers who work to
keep us safe and decrease impaired driving. To help
save lives, States and local communities across our
Nation will participate in the national Drive Sober or
Get Pulled Over campaign from December 12 to January 1,
reminding all Americans of their important
responsibility.

My Administration is striving to increase awareness of
the dangers and devastating consequences of impaired
driving in all its forms, especially the growing, but
often overlooked, problem of drugged driving. Illegal
drugs, as well as prescription and over-the-counter
medications, can be just as deadly on the road as
alcohol, and preventing drugged driving is a public
health imperative. As part of our 2014 National Drug
Control Strategy, we are working to support the data
collection that underlies evidence-based policy making,
strengthening the protections that keep drugged drivers
off the road, and helping bolster law enforcement
officials' ability to identify drug-impaired drivers.

Reducing impaired driving and keeping our roadways safe
is everyone's responsibility. Parents and other caring
adults can play an important role in educating young
Americans about the dangers of impaired driving; adults
can model good practices while driving and can help new
drivers develop safe habits. This holiday season, all
Americans can drive responsibly and encourage their
loved ones to do the same, including by designating a
sober driver or making alternative transportation
arrangements. For more information, please visit
www.NHTSA.gov/DriveSober, www.WhiteHouse.gov/ONDCP/DruggedDriving DruggedDriving, and www.Distraction.gov.

During National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, let
us resolve to do our part to keep our streets and
highways safe. Together, our actions can save lives.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim December 2014 as
National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. I urge all
Americans to

make responsible decisions and take appropriate
measures to prevent impaired driving.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-eighth day of November, in the year of our Lord
two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
ninth.