New DWI Business Alliance Formed to Push for DWI Crash Reductions in Albuquerque

For Immediate Release

June 27, 2008

Contact:    Linda Atkinson, Executive Director - (505) 881-1084

Albuquerque, NM - The DWI Resource Center, in partnership with the City of Albuquerque, is pleased to announce the formation of a new DWI Business Alliance, an association of employers dedicated to reducing DWI death and injury in Albuquerque. More than 30 businesses have joined the Alliance in an effort to reduce alcohol-involved crashes and injuries at high-risk intersections around the city through: adoption of drug- and alcohol-free workplace programs; employee and supervisor education; supporting programs to promote responsible social behavior off-the-job such as designated driver or Safe Ride Home programs; and working in partnership with community organizations on targeted DWI campaigns.

Although all Albuquerque businesses are invited to join the Alliance, initial recruitment focused on businesses located near three intersections in Albuquerque with the highest incidents of alcohol-involved crashes resulting in death and injury. These intersections included Louisiana and Central, Zuni and Central, and Menaul and 4th street. Labor Concepts, a temporary employment agency whose business is located between the Central and Zuni/Louisiana intersections, was one of the first companies to join the Alliance.

“Our business has been personally affected by drunk driving. One of our employees was nearly killed by a drunk driver, and it is our hope that the DWI Business Alliance will serve not only as an agent for change in our community, but also as a voice for DWI victims,” said Bob Rhodes, President and CEO of Labor Concepts. “We are one of the few employment agencies in Albuquerque offering employers the option of drug- or alcohol testing for temporary workers, and joining the DWI Business Alliance supports and reflects our commitment to promoting socially responsible business practices.”

DWI continues to be one of the most pressing social issues in Albuquerque. In 2006, the most recent year for which data are available, more than 2,386 people in Bernalillo County were victims of alcohol-involved crashes, including 38 people killed and another 661 seriously injured. More than 3,400 people were convicted of drunk driving in Bernalillo in 2006. UNM’s Division of Government Research estimates the total economic cost of these crashes to be more than $269 million dollars, including lost wages, increased taxes, medical expenses, insurance premiums, and indirect costs associated with loss of quality of life for DWI victims.

“A.J. Tires recognizes the important role that businesses and community organizations can play in changing environmental factors associated with drunk driving,” said J.D. Worker, owner and manager of A.J. Tires. “We have been a long standing supporter and sponsor of efforts to reduce DWI death and injury, and we would like to see the DWI Business Alliance serve as a voice for policy change in the community and state.”

The DWI Business Alliance has also gained the support of companies such as Sober New Mexico and TruTouch Technologies which specialize in developing alcohol-detection technology.

“As a retired judge I realize the dangers our families and friends still face each time we venture out into our streets,” said former Metro Court Judge Frank Gentry, President of Sober NM, whose company distributes the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM) bracelet. “My judicial secretary of eleven years was killed by a DWI driver in 2005 moments after she left work on a weekday afternoon--real danger for all of us. As business leaders it our social responsibility to do everything within our ability to address the issue of impaired driving which continues to plague our community.” TruTouch Technologies, a leading provider of alcohol screening devices, joined the DWI Business Alliance to partner with other businesses to reduce workplace alcohol use and impaired driving.

“We are proud to join the DWI Business Alliance, as TruTouch is dedicated to reducing the devastating impact and costs of alcohol abuse on families, on the roadways, and in the workplace,” said Jim McNally, President and CEO of TruTouch. “We are thrilled to be teaming up with like-minded organizations to promote safety breakthroughs made possible by innovations like our non-invasive alcohol testing products. We are ready to partner with local businesses that want to take the lead in the fight against workplace alcohol use and DWI. Working together, we can make “best” practices become “common” practices.”

For more information about the new DWI Business Alliance, interested businesses and organizations may contact Rick Sandoval at the DWI Resource Center at (505) 881-1084. The DWI Business Alliance is funded by the City of Albuquerque, and there is no cost to join. Additional information about DWI high crash intersections in Bernalillo County is available from the DWI Resource Center website at http://www.dwiresourcecenter.org.

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About the DWI Resource Center
The DWI Resource Center is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 New Mexico organization formed to reduce the social and economic impact of DWI through public awareness, education, prevention programs and research. The Center also provides assistance to victims and serves as a central clearinghouse for information on DWI and victims' rights.