B.C. STOP-DWI Receives Chamber's Community Advocate Award

BINGHAMTON, NY - Broome County’s STOP-DWI program has received the Greater Binghamton Chamber’s Community Advocate Award for 2006. The award is presented each year by the Chamber to an organization that has made a significant contribution to the improvement and/or enrichment of the neighborhood it serves, or the Greater Binghamton area as a whole.

The mission of the Broome County STOP-DWI program is to raise awareness of the dangers of drunk and impaired driving. The local program uses a number of innovative ways including sporting events to reach out to young people to help drive this important message home.

“There are STOP-DWI programs all across New York State but I am confident that none of the agencies is as comprehensive or innovative as the Broome County STOP-DWI Program,” said Barbara J. Fiala, Broome County Executive. “I give all of the credit to Jim May and his staff who are very dedicated and extremely creative in their efforts to reach people of all ages about the devastating consequences of drinking and driving.”

Statistics are the best gauge of success for a program like STOP-DWI:

• During the 1980’s on average 13 people died each year due to drunk driving. In the 1990’s the annual average declined to 5 per year. And, for the year’s 2000 Broome County has averaged 3 DWI fatals per year.
• Alcohol related motor vehicle crashes in 2004 are 70% lower than the yearly average prior to STOP-DWI (1979-81) and 34% below the annual average for the 1990’s.
• The average annual number of people seriously injured in alcohol related motor vehicle crashes from 2000 – 2004 represents a 35% reduction from annual averages in the 1990’s and a 70% reduction from annual averages prior to STOP-DWI (1979 – 1981).

Broome County STOP-DWI Coordinator Jim May accepted the Chamber’s 2006 Community Advocate Award at the Chamber’s Annual Thanksgiving Day Luncheon, Tuesday, November 14th. The event was held at the McKinley in Endicott.

STOP-DWI stands for "Special Traffic Options Program for Driving While Intoxicated". The STOP-DWI Program was enacted by the State Legislature in 1981 for the purposes of empowering county governments to coordinate local efforts to reduce alcohol and other drug-related traffic crashes within the context of a comprehensive and financially self-sustaining alcohol and highway safety program.

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