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White males are the only people that drink and drive. That’s the message The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration is advertising this holiday season. This campaign is supported by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).
In a year old ad campaign titled “Over the limit. Under arrest.” the NHTSA depicts three white males pulled over for drinking and driving. The statement “Sir, have you been drinking?” is repeated throughout the commercial. The NHTSA is spending 7 million dollars on this national television and radio campaign. This money could be spent more wisely financing local police departments. Placing more officers at checkpoints to stop DUI offenders would be a more logical solution then telling people about it. It’s safe to assume that people realize drinking and driving is a problem, especially during the holiday season.
What is most disturbing is the portrayal of each male. The first male appears to be blue collar, dressed down, wearing a trucker hat, driving a pick up truck with beer flowing out of the car. The second male appears to be a white-collar businessman, wearing a suit, driving what appears to be a four-door sedan with a clear vodka looking liquid flowing out of the car. Finally, the third male appears to be in his mid to late 20’s, driving a sports car, wearing a dress shirt with a red looking fluid flowing out of the car.
According to California’s Office of the Attorney General website, 20 percent of DUI felony and misdemeanor arrests are female. Offenders under 20 years of age account for 20.6 percent of arrests. Whites, Hispanics and Blacks account for 37.5, 39.7 and 17 percent respectively.
This ad campaign fails to include four out of the five groups that account for a significant percentage of DUI arrests.
The commercial also gives the false impression that people only drive drunk at night. According to the Union County Ohio Sheriff’s department, 30 percent of DUI arrests occurred before 2 p.m.
Based on my research, I question what criteria were used to make this commercial. Also, who monitors and approves commercials produced by government agencies?
Is there a statistic that shows a significant reduction in the number of DUI arrests based on this 7 million dollar campaign? In a time when our national debt is increasing exponentially shouldn’t we be more concerned with our government’s involvement in media campaigns?
The reality of the matter is anyone can be arrested for a DUI. To keep consistent with my research, the Governor’s Highway Safety Association website says 24 percent of DUI suspects arrested in California have had prior arrests in the past 7 years. . Harsher penalties for offenders should be the primary focus. Driving is a privilege not a right. A vehicle is a weapon. If a person can’t abide by the law then they should lose that privilege immediately and permanently. We have other means of transportation that people can use including buses and taxi cabs. It is not America’s problem that those means of transportation are inconvenient or costly. The end goal is to save lives.
Maybe the ad campaign should change its title to “Over the limit. Under arrest. Lose your license. Period. Permanently. No excuses.”
(Sherif is a widely acclaimed standup comedian and satirist whose topics include family, education, religion, careers, dating, television, stereotypes, racism and growing up in the Middle East. Reach Sherif at www.FunnySherif.com. Copyright Arab Writers Group Syndicate, www.ArabWritersGroup.com.)
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I’ve seen this commercial many times and never noticed the ‘all white male thing’. Thanks for pointing it out. So wrong.
Amazing that a public service ad could be biased so blatantly! Drunk Drivers are the people next door… male and female alike.. not to mention all races and backgrounds.
I’m gunna go with WHO CARES? I get the point.
wow u r lame
This irritated me the first time I saw it. Now they’ve EXPANDED the spot with a motorcyclist. Of course he’s a white male. I was going to contact the national Department of Transportation about this spot, but it will do nothing. Reversed, it would be an ENTIRELY different thing. Thanks for pointing out the sexism and racism in this commercial. I thought I might have been the only one who noticed.
Advertisers commonly target white males in their commercials becuase white males are fair game since they are the last “minority” to organize as a minority group. Ad agencies are full of women and gay men who flip reality upside down and depict women as all knowing and powerful craetures alongside black men. White men are feckless dolts….just look at all the inventions they’ve created and how many companies they’ve built…..Oh ya….those silly dump white men! It’s like the Cosby Show all over again….reality turned inside out just to send a message to the minds of the masses. See if enough and it will soon become your reality….sleep….sleep….sleep!
I think that you are reading too much into the race of the people in the commercial. In the future they should use women and other race groups. The should also have commercials taking place during the day. Many people do drink during the day and on the job.
I noticed that, and it ticks me off!! Note: I never drink and drive… but I think their campain against male drivers is wrong!. If they were all girls in that commercial, or all non-white – then i bet there would be some people screamin and protesting, somehow/somewhere…
I am glad that there are other people besides me who are angry over the all white male portrayal in those commercials. For those of you who are aware of such things, pay attention to any burglar alarm/security system tv commercials showing only white males.
The point of the commercial is to have people realize drinking and driving is not smart, it’s not to point out which people do the drinking and driving. And for all you ignorant white people who think that I am not white, wrong. It shouldn’t offend you that white males volunteered to do this commercial. Get a life and stop thinking of everything in a racist way. I’m pretty sure African Americans don’t think, “wow, i can drink and drive because there aren’t any black people in this commercial.” You are all rocks you. I hate you. Especially you Gina. Rock.
you’re all fucking retarded and need to get a life, your on a blog. You know what kind of people comment on blogs, fat women who are unattractive (Gina). It has nothing to do with sexism or racism faggots.