The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission (LHSC) was one of five State Highway Safety Offices to receive a grant from GHSA and ride hailing company Lyft to prevent impaired driving during the 2018 holiday season. With its grant, LHSC complemented its annual "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" enforcement campaign with social media messaging to spotlight discounted Lyft rides.
LHSC sought to utilize grant funds to reinforce and optimize its Drive Sober high visibility enforcement period, which ran from December 14 to January 1. To spread the word about the availability of ride credits, LHSC utilized paid and earned media and engaged with law enforcement partners, offering promotional cards to provide during interactions with citizens over the holiday period.
LHSC’s media efforts targeted 18-49 year old drivers and included distribution of a news release as well as social media engagement. The news release was picked up by 25 outlets throughout Louisiana, and campaign-related stories aired in all major media markets across Louisiana. Additionally, LHSC increased the number of social media followers by 18% and the social media campaign generated more than 1,500 new LHSC Page “likes” and garnered more than 400,000 impressions.
Ultimately, 2,000 Lyft discount codes were redeemed in the New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Shreveport and Monroe areas. Through this partnership, LHSC was able to expand its anti-impaired driving message across the state and encourage safe rides home during the holiday season.