New felony DUI law impacts the question, “What will you lose?”
“I was just like any 25-year-old girl who would go out and party with friends. I had a good job and never thought that I would be the one to get a DUI. It’s tragic, humiliating and embarrassing that it had to take consequences like this to teach me the dangers of drunk driving. I hope my story will connect with someone similar. Take it from me – a DUI will stay with you forever.”
– Andrea Milholm, DUI offender featured in the campaign
Information submitted by CDOT
Impaired driving is shunned in our society, yet every single day drivers get behind the wheel drunk or high and risk the safety of everyone around them. Some may not consider the consequences, assuming it will never happen to them. But the fact is that impaired drivers do get arrested – an average of 77 every day in Colorado – and the consequences are severe.
In an effort to reduce impaired driving, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is launching What Will YOU Lose?, a campaign featuring DUI offenders speaking about what they have lost because of their DUI conviction and urging others not to make the same mistake. What Will YOU Lose? features real Coloradans, not actors, who share their stories in hopes of preventing other people from driving impaired. Some offenders are currently serving time in the Colorado Department of Corrections, while others not incarcerated have lost their licenses, jobs and more.
A key focus of the campaign is the new felony DUI law. In 2015, Colorado enacted a law making an individual’s fourth DUI conviction automatically eligible for a Class 4 felony charge. The goal of the law is to greatly increase consequences for repeat DUI offenders and remove them from Colorado’s roadways. Some offenders that participated in CDOT’s campaign were charged as felons for driving impaired.
“It’s one thing to hear about the consequences of a DUI from CDOT, but it’s even more powerful to hear directly from people who have experienced those consequences firsthand,” said Sam Cole, CDOT communications manager. “A DUI can happen to anyone who chooses to get behind the wheel after even just a few drinks. For the campaign, men and women offenders of all ages volunteered to speak on camera describing how they lost their right to drive, lost connections with family, lost their careers and much more.”
Last month, videos featuring the DUI offenders aired on Colorado broadcast TV and online through connected TV platforms. CDOT also placed posters in 40 bars across the state. To view the campaign videos, visit bit.ly/CDOTDUIVideos. For more information, visit www.HeatIsOnColorado.com.
