CHARLESTON — December is National Drunk and Drug-Impaired Driving Prevention Month, and the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) is joining stakeholders across the state to increase awareness of the risks involved with impaired driving, and reduce impaired driving traffic crashes and fatalities.

These organizations work to identify and prevent alcohol and substance use issues, as well as intervene and provide recovery resources, before these issues lead to further risky behaviors such as impaired driving. By trying to identify alcohol and substance use before it turns into a larger problem, the GHSP and its partners can reduce impaired driving crashes and fatalities, as well as associated dangers such as overdoses and suicide.

“To truly make a difference with impaired driving, we all have to work together with a multi-pronged approach that involves not just education and enforcement, but also prevention and recovery,” said GHSP Director Jack McNeely.

“Impaired driving is one of many substance use-related concerns for college and university students in West Virginia,” said Wes Thomas, West Virginia Initiative to Advance Campus Communities (WVCIA) Co-Chair. “Ahead of the holiday season, the GHSP graciously provided funding for numerous campuses in the state to purchase educational materials focusing on reducing alcohol and cannabis impaired driving among students. The GHSP also supports a range of programs on WV campuses that aim to prevent and reduce substance use, and its associated risks.”

Impairment is not only caused by alcohol and illegal drugs – many prescription medications can negatively impact your ability to drive. If your medication includes warnings about operating a vehicle or heavy machinery or about causing drowsiness, take the time to determine how the medication affects you to decide if you can safely drive while taking it.

While alcohol is legal to consume by adults age 21 and older, driving after drinking is still illegal.  Just as with alcohol, medical marijuana may be legal for those with prescriptions, but driving while impaired by marijuana is also illegal.

The GHSP also works with the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration (WVABCA) to reduce incidents of underage alcohol consumption. This approach involves law enforcement and ABCA agents citing on- and off-premises businesses and underage individuals when sales to underage individuals occur. This partnership also involves identifying fake IDs that are often used to illegally purchase alcoholic beverages as well as non-intoxicating beer.

In addition, the WVABCA has educational programs dealing with underage drinking. Their DUI simulator travels to high schools across the state to educate students on the dangers of drinking and driving and distracted driving. The NO School Spirits PSA contest allows middle and high school students to create videos that address the inherent dangers of underage drinking. The deadline for entries is Friday, December 19, 2025, and schools compete for prizes, with the first-place video becoming a PSA that airs during prom and graduation season.

“The WVABCA and the GHSP have worked together for many years, and we are thankful for the leadership role the GHSP takes in keeping our roads safe,” said WVABCA Commissioner Fred Wooton. “The WVABCA is committed to working with key stakeholders to address the harms that result from the misuse of alcohol.”

Awareness and advocacy make up another prong of this holistic impaired driving approach.  The GHSP partners with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and its regional and local advocates to continue to raise awareness of the risks and consequences of impaired driving, from those who know it best – the families who have been forever changed by the loss of a loved one due to an impaired driving crash.

Although drunk and drug-impaired driving prevention is the focus for December, preventing it and the risks associated with it should be a priority for everyone throughout the year. Safety is everyone’s responsibility, so please do your part to keep yourself and others safe on and near the roadways.

For more information on impaired driving, visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving.