CDOT Offering 50% Off Breathalyzers During DUI Campaign

The Colorado Department of Transportation has partnered with the company BACtrack to offer 50 percent off breathalyzers as part of The Heat Is On campaign. CDOT, Colorado State Patrol and 85 local law agencies are conducting the campaign in an effort to crack down on impaired driving in the weeks before Labor Day and through the holiday weekend. The discounted breathalyzers will be offered until the end of September, or until supplies last.

During last year’s Labor Day enforcement, 936 impaired drivers were arrested, officials said.

Coloradans are urged to use breathalyzers to check their blood-alcohol content and confirm they are sober before they drive. Residents can visit codot.bactrack.com to place an order. The regular price of a breathalyzer is $99, but Coloradans are being offered $50 off.

“This initiative makes an important resource available to Coloradans to help people make safe and educated decisions,” said Shoshana Lew, executive director of CDOT. “Choosing when to get behind the wheel can be a life or death decision and education about impaired driving — along with enforcement — is a key part of keeping roads safe.”

CDOT’s Labor Day enforcement period and DUI-prevention campaign support CDOT’s Whole System — Whole Safety initiative to reduce traffic injuries and deaths. Last year, there were 209 passenger vehicle fatalities on Colorado roads involving impaired drivers, accounting for more than one-third of all traffic fatalities, officials said. Forty-four people were killed in crashes involving impaired drivers last August and September, accounting for more than 20 percent of the impaired driving fatality total last year.

Do One Smart Thing ads are out across Denver on posters and bus tails, in-bar coasters, mirror and door clings, as well as radio, digital banners and social media ads. The campaign, which uses humor to battle the serious problem of impaired driving, is based on the premise that "we have all done something stupid after a few drinks." The ads joke about texting an ex, breaking out embarrassing dance moves and hot tubbing in your business suit.

"But the dumbest thing someone can do is get behind the wheel of a car when they’re impaired," the advertisements show.

CDOT’s partnership with BACtrack is the first and only partnership of its kind in the country between a breathalyzer company and a state department of transportation, officials said. The program is also supported by the Foundation for Advanced Alcohol Responsibility. The Foundation brings more then 25 years of leadership in the fight against drunk driving and underage drinking.