SAFE LANE COALITION

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Make a Plan Campaign

Planned Rides & Sober Drivers Save Lives

The Safe Lane Transportation Coalition (SLTC) is working to shift community perception and help people understand that it is not acceptable nor safe to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Lane County. “Make a Plan” is the central message of this two-pronged county-wide campaign.

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How You Can Help

We've created digital toolkits in English and Spanish that include downloadable content, making it easy for you to share the “Make a Plan” campaign on your own social media channels. Your communication efforts can help save lives!

Also available are “Make a Plan” beverage coasters and printed materials for restaurants and bars to display to patrons. To request these materials for distribution at events, restaurants, bars, dispensaries or other distributor outlets, please email Safe Lane Coalition Coordinator Drew Pfefferle.

Download all assets from the digital toolkit or choose from the individual assets below, then follow each social platform’s instructions for uploading and posting graphics, written messaging and optional hashtags. Thank you for supporting our efforts!

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  • The average person doesn’t believe that the threat of a fatal or life-altering DUII crash applies to them. Most people believe that they can have a couple of drinks or use cannabis and drive safe and unharmed. Crashes from DUII are 100% preventable but the public accepts them as unavoidable.

  • The most recent five-year rolling data (2018-2022) shows that, on average, four impaired driving-related fatalities occur annually in the central Lane County metropolitan area, while an additional nine impaired driving fatalities occur in more rural areas of Lane County—that’s nine lives that could have been spared by planning ahead for a ride.

    According to current cannabis laws in Oregon, it is legal to possess and use cannabis. However, it is still illegal to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of cannabis.

    An elevated blood alcohol level, no matter how sober someone feels, can have a real impact on their ability to perform tasks that require concentration, such as driving. And the more someone drinks, the harder it is for them to judge their level of intoxication.  

    A drink is typically defined as 12 ounces of 5% alcohol beer; five ounces of 12% alcohol wine; or 1.5 ounces of 80 proof (40% alcohol) liquor. As little as two drinks can affect someone’s ability to drive, including declined visual functions, an inability to perform two tasks at a time, loss of judgment and altered mood.

  • Super Bowl

    St. Patrick’s Day

    April 20 (420)

    Memorial Day

    Summer Months

    Labor Day

    Start of School

    Fall & Winter Holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, December holiday parties, Christmas, New Year’s, etc.

  • Our goal is to reduce the number of preventable deaths and serious injuries caused by intoxicated driving through community outreach and education campaigns. We want people to proactively think through their plans every time they might consume alcohol or drugs, such as cannabis. We want to normalize not getting on a bike, walking in the roadway or driving if alcohol or drugs have been consumed.

  • To end preventable DUII-related deaths, our concept of acceptable driving behavior must change. This “Make a Plan” campaign imagines a community of people who drive sober or plan ahead for a ride if alcohol or drugs will be consumed. The campaign creative is based on research—surveys, focus groups and secondary research—conducted in 2023-24. Research results showed that the target audience (drivers ages 21+) responded most favorably to positive, memorable, catchy messages, coupled with engaging, animated graphics that focus on the desired driving behaviors we want to reinforce and achieve among drivers. The “Make a Plan” research and outreach campaigns were developed in partnership with Turell Group.

 

The SAFE LANE COALITION is a partnership of organizations and community members that aspire to eliminate fatalities and severe injuries on our transportation network.  

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WHAT WE DO

Year after year, Lane County consistently has a disproportion of fatalities per capita compared to other counties in Oregon. In 2022, the most recent annual data available for Lane County, 54 fatal crashes occurred, an increase of 80% from 2012. Risky and dangerous driving like speeding, impaired driving, and being distracted while driving are consistently the leading cause of preventable traffic deaths.

In 2022, 554 Oregonians were killed in traffic crashes – a 28-year high we have not seen since 1996. Annual traffic deaths in Lane County had been steadily rising in the 2010’s however traffic deaths surged in 2020 due to increasing reckless driving even though there was a decline in driving during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Safe Lane Transportation Coalition (SLTC) works to reduce the number of severe and fatal crashes in Lane County by using the strengths of the member organizations to influence and establish transportation safety policies, programs, and practices. The coalition accomplishes this through selecting and implementing specific strategies that address DUII prevention, speed reduction, and traffic safety education and outreach.

 
 
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BACKGROUND

In 2015, the Central Lane Metropolitan Planning Organization (CLMPO) and Lane County began collaborating on an innovative planning process to address the growing need to prioritize safety throughout our transportation system. Their efforts created a regional safety action plan, The Safe Lane, that set the groundwork for systematic changes to our transportation system. To implement the vision and goals set out in the Safe Lane Action Plan, CLMPO and Lane County, with the support from the Oregon Department of Transportation, created the Safe Lane Transportation Coalition. This program focuses on reducing fatal and severe crashes in our region through education, outreach, and enforcement efforts.

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REGIONAL SAFETY PLANNING

In 2015 and 2016 coalition partners came together to develop a Transportation Safety Action Plan that serves Lane County. In 2017, the Metropolitan Policy Committee adopted the Central Lane Transportation Safety Action Plan.

Oregon has long been a leader in transportation safety through the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Transportation Safety Division. ODOT has developed a statewide Transportation Safety Action Plan (TSAP). The Oregon (TSAP) establishes a set of actions that Oregonians have identified as steps to a safer travel environment.

Building on the success and partnerships of this planning process, the MPO and Lane County with support from ODOT launched the Safe Lane Coalition. Safe Lane Coalition implements the vision the laid out in the Transportation Safety Action Plan and focuses on reducing fatal and severe crashes in our region through education, outreach, and enforcement efforts.

 

Contact Us

 
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Drew Pfefferle

Dpfefferle@lcog.org

Safe Lane Coalition Coordinator

859 Willamette Street, Suit 500

Eugene, Oregon 97401

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