Virginia launches 25th 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' campaign

Virginia officials Aug. 19 are launching the state's 25th annual drunk driving enforcement and public awareness effort, "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over." The campaign will run through Sept. 7 and will include 111 Virginia law enforcement agencies conducting 665 individual saturation patrols and 58 sobriety checkpoints statewide.

“Virginia has made major strides in combating impaired driving over the last 25 years, and the Commonwealth’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign has been central to that progress,” said Virginia Secretary of Transportation Nick Donohue. “However, every drunk driving death, injury, crash and arrest is 100% preventable and preventing them requires all of us to do our part. Whether it’s planning a safe ride home if your plans include alcohol, reporting suspected impaired drivers, or simply buckling up, every action helps make Virginia’s roads safer.”

To complement the stepped-up law enforcement effort, Virginia’s 2026 Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over operation is deploying a research-based and newly enhanced public awareness program called “What’s the Damage?”

First introduced in 2024, the program originally focused on the financial consequences of a drunk driving arrest. The new 2026 outreach is designed to remind Virginia motorists that a DUI offense can have consequences far beyond the financial impact, affecting a person’s relationships, friendships and overall quality of life. It also encourages everyone to always plan a safe ride home before drinking.

Since the start of the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign in 2002, there has been notable progress in reducing drunk driving in Virginia. Alcohol-related traffic crashes have nearly halved (45%), fatalities have decreased by 36%, and injuries have decreased by 42% (from 2001 vs. 2025, according to Virginia DMV).

More recently, newly released DMV data from 2025 shows that both alcohol-related crash fatalities and serious injuries decreased significantly from the prior year (22% and 9%, respectively).

“We are encouraged by the decline in recent alcohol-related fatalities and serious injuries, but there is always more work to be done,” said Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Saundra M. Jack, the governor’s Highway Safety representative. “Safeguarding lives is central to the DMV’s mission, and the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign represents a meaningful step forward in our collective effort to foster safer roadways for motorists across Virginia.”

The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign is supported by new data from consumer research company GWI (Global Web Index), which this month surveyed 500 Virginia drivers most likely to drive after drinking: 21 to 35-year-old males. Among other findings, the research showed that while nearly all (89%) of the 21- to 35-year-old male drivers surveyed in Virginia believe it is important to plan for a safe ride home after drinking, only a third (34%) frequently do.

Virginia State Police troopers will work through the Labor Day holiday as part of Operation CARE – the Crash Awareness Reduction Effort. CARE is a nationwide, state-sponsored traffic safety program that aims to reduce traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries caused by impaired driving, speeding and failing to use occupant restraints. Virginia State Police’s participation in the program will begin Sept. 4 and run through Sept. 7.

“With over 100 law enforcement agencies participating throughout the Commonwealth, Virginians will see a significantly stepped-up effort by state and local law enforcement to identify and apprehend impaired drivers through the Labor Day holiday,” said Virginia State Police Superintendent Colonel Jeffrey S. Katz.

Virginia’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign is supported by a grant from DMV to the Virginia-based nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program.