Global Actions in Focus
Colombia Drink driving initiative
The Colombia Global Actions Drink Driving Initiative hosted a workshop for law enforcement officers and legal teams on May 8, 2013, in Chia, Colombia. Participants included 13 Chia transit police officers, members of the Cundinamarca Highway Police, transit lawyers, and the Chia Secretary of Mobility. The workshop provided attendees with a review of new drink driving procedures and court interpretations in the area. Police officers were shown how to use media to enhance the deterrent effect of sobriety checkpoints, how to conduct operations of short duration, and how to utilize consecutive checkpoints to improve efficiency.
Participants at the Drink Driving Initiative in Chia, Colombia listen to a presentation.
The drink driving enforcement project in Chia began with a collaboration with the Mayor of Chia and a checkpoint equipment grant from DIAGEO Colombia. In 2012, Global Actions conducted capacity building workshops with key city agencies to enhance both community engagement and police enforcement activities. Surveys conducted before and after the events indicate that officers retained information from previous seminars and maintained a 76% knowledge level regarding new drink driving laws in Colombia.
Expanding the methodology in other Colombian cities has been endorsed by Global Actions sponsor companies in Colombia. In April 2013, Global Actions visited officials in Yumbo, a satellite city of Cali, to arrange Phase One of the Patrullero Project. Phase One involves hosting one-day seminars for police and transit officials. The Yumbo seminar will be held on May 30 and 31, 2013. Representatives from Palmira, Tulua, and Candelaria will also attend the Yumbo seminar.
Following the May 2013 seminar, Global Actions held discussions with Chia Secretary of Mobility Clara Maritza Riveros to plan future cooperation on drink driving enforcement and prevention in conjunction with Phase Two of the Patrullero Project in Chia.
Key Recent Milestones
· Vietnam: The first site survey was conducted on May 14 through 18, 2013, as part of the Global Actions Drink Driving Initiative in Thanh Hoa Province and Nghe An Province in Vietnam. Provincial Traffic Safety Councils and the Project Steering Board, headed by National Transportation Safety Council Chief (NTSC) Nguyen Trong Thai, attended the event. The survey included a review of recent road traffic crashes and focused on inter-sector partnerships to implement traffic safety measures.
What's Happening Next
· Thailand: Conducted in two rural areas in Thailand, the Community Drink Driving Pilot Project (CDDPP) engaged local communities to empower them to address the risks associated with harmful drinking and drink driving. On May 28, 2013, the evaluation team will discuss CDDPP and review best practices, improvements that could be made, challenges that were encountered during the project, and recommendations made by research team members. Results of the CDDPP will be available in June 2013.
