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SALT LAKE CITY — October is the most deadly month of the year on Utah's highways for deaths due to drunk driving, and with Halloween falling on a weekend this year, law enforcement agencies are stepping up their patrols.
They're also trying a different approach to preventing drinking and driving. Fifteen bars and restaurants along the Wasatch Front are working with the UHP and other agencies to send a message during this Halloween season. The message becomes clear when customers walk into the restrooms.
Jacob Torres, general manager of Lumpy's and Sky/SLC, described the men's room. "I tried to picture it and then I see it and it's pretty amazing. It's kind of a shock," he said Thursday. "Like wow, this could be me inside of this little cell."
With signs and wraps on the walls, door and mirrors, the restroom looks like the inside of a jail cell.
For example, the mirrors above the sinks have a wrap that looks like the top of a prison uniform. When a person stands in front of the mirror, his or her reflection lines up to show what you would look like in jail clothing. It's a reminder of the consequences of drinking and driving.
"There was a time when New Year's Eve was the big drinking holiday, " said UHP trooper Lawrence Hopper. "DUI's were big as far as numbers go. But that's changed to Halloween now."
In the past decade, October has become deadliest month of the year, Hopper says, and with so many people celebrating Halloween at parties and clubs, law enforcement agencies began their DUI checkpoints and blitzes several weeks ago.
"Especially with it being on a Saturday this month, you know the partying is going to start on Thursday and run all the way through Sunday," Hopper says.
The drunk driver patrols will be a multi-agency effort throughout all of Utah, with state, county and local agencies participating.
Last year, there were 42 fatalities in Utah due to impaired driving, and Hopper says the trend is going up so far this year. "It's not a trend that we want to see and we need to do something about that number."
That's the reason for this campaign. It's unusual and in-your-face perhaps, but the hope is that it will make an impression on those who are out partying in the days ahead.
Hopper says these jail-themed restrooms will create a social media blitz as people pull out their phones and snap a few shots. "That's what we're looking for. Any way that we can spread the message, fantastic."
As for the restroom artwork, Torres says he isn't taking it down after Halloween has passed. "We're going to leave it up for as long as we can. It kind of keeps that message out there," he said.
