Local TV stations remind holiday revelers to get a safe ride home during the holidays

NEW YORK, Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To help make our roads safer during this time of year, the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) today announced the 17^th annual Project Roadblock initiative, in which local broadcast TV stations donate advertising time and space to support NHTSA and the Ad Council's "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving" PSA campaign.

Many Americans are expected to travel during the holidays despite the COVID-19 pandemic and must be sure to stay safe on the roads after seeing family or friends, since drinking and driving remains a serious public safety issue. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 210 lives were lost in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes from the Christmas to New Year's Day holiday period in 2019.

To help the campaign's message reach those who could benefit most, Project Roadblock is conducting a special push to TV stations in the states that accounted for over two-thirds of all alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in the 2018 holiday season: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

For seventeen years, local broadcast TV stations have participated in Project Roadblock by airing Buzzed Driving Prevention PSAs during the six-day period between December 26 and 31, with a special push at 10 p.m. local time on New Year's Eve. At Project Roadblock's inception in 2004, December was one of the deadliest drunk driving months of the year.

"Buzzed driving is dangerous and puts you and everyone else on the road at risk, and efforts like those under Project Roadblock remind everyone to celebrate safely and responsibly this holiday season," NHTSA Deputy Administrator James Owens said.

2019's Project Roadblock saw over 65,000 placements of donated on-air, digital sub-channel, online and mobile time and space by over 1,000 TV stations reaching all 50 states, resulting in nearly $8 million in donated media over the six-day period. Since Project Roadblock's inaugural year in 2004, broadcast TV stations across the nation have donated over $81 million in media to support this effort. To date, over 900 stations in all 210 markets have already pledged their support for Project Roadblock 2020.   

"Every day local broadcast TV stations provide their communities with the most trusted news and information, which has been especially critical in 2020," said Steve Lanzano, President and CEO of TVB. "For the 17th year, TV stations will continue to demonstrate their ongoing commitment to the safety of their communities by participating in this lifesaving anti-buzzed driving campaign."

The PSAs end with the tagline "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving," reminding drivers to find safe ways to get home instead of getting behind the wheel. All PSA distribution and delivery will be donated by Extreme Reach.

"No matter your holiday plans, make sure you make a strategy ahead of time to get home safe," said Michelle Hillman, Ad Council Chief Campaign Development Officer. "Local broadcast stations have done an incredible job of spreading that message, and we look forward to another successful year of Project Roadblock."

For more information about Project Roadblock, visit tvb.org/projectroadblock, and follow the campaign online using hashtag #ProjectRoadblock on Facebook and Twitter.

The Ad Council
The Ad Council brings together the most creative minds in advertising and media to address the most worthy causes. Its innovative, pro bono social good campaigns raise awareness. They inspire action. They save lives. To learn more, visit AdCouncil.org, follow the Ad Council's communities on Facebook and Twitter, and view the creative on YouTube.

TVB
TVB is the not-for-profit trade association representing America's local broadcast television industry. Its members include the U.S. television stations, television broadcast groups, advertising sales reps, syndicators, international broadcasters and associate members. TVB actively promotes local media marketing solutions to the advertising community and works to develop advertising dollars for the medium's multiple platforms, including on-air, online and mobile. TVB provides a diverse variety of tools and resources, including its website, to support its members and to help advertisers make the best use of local ad dollars.

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SOURCE The Ad Council