Key Recent Milestones:
· Vietnam: With the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), Global Actions Vietnam held a drink drive capacity building workshop in Da Nang City for traffic safety officials in June.
Global Actions in Focus: Drink Driving Workshops in Chia, Colombia
Global Actions continues progress of drink driving initiatives in Colombia with recent workshops for police officers and transit officials in the city of Chia. In two workshops that took place July 10 and 11, Global Actions addressed important changes to Colombia drink driving laws that took effect on July 5.
“The workshops were designed to provide the latest information on drink drive regulations and build the skills, confidence, and background knowledge of police and transit officials,” said Global Actions Country Manager Mario Alberto Lleras. “We brought Colombian National Transit Expert Dr. Salwa Maria to present the changes and what they mean to drink drive enforcement in Colombia.”
A workshop highlight included a presentation from Universidad de los Andes international expert Dr. Carlos Carvajal, who spoke on “Alcohol Basics and Drink Drive Crash Data.” Practical police training for drink drive detection was presented by New York State Police Sr. Investigator Gary Colon, a 26-year veteran with over 1,000 drink drive arrests. ICAP Consultant Jack Sullivan presented experiences on DWI checkpoint operations from New York’s STOP-DWI Program.
“The event achieved training for 100% of the Chia Transit Police force and a 50% improvement in the background knowledge of alcohol basics and drink drive regulations in Colombia among all participants,” said Lleras.
The Chia Mayor’s Office, the Chia Secretary of Transit and Transport, and ICAP industry sponsor DIAGEO Colombia helped to organize the workshops. Over 100 people attended, including Chia officials and representatives from the Transit Police, Secretary of Education and Tourism, Fire Service, Legal Department, Prosecutors’ Office, Office of Civil Defense, Economic Development, Public Works, Child Protection Services, City Council, National Police, and the Red Cross.
View more photos of the workshops here.
What’s Happening Next:
· Mexico: In collaboration with Aguas con el Alcohol, Global Actions Mexico is holding a “Train the Trainers” workshop from August 27 to 31 in Puebla. The workshop is part of Global Actions drink driving initiative and will train Puebla police and other partners on reducing harmful drinking and how to raise awareness about the dangers of drink driving.
