'Road To Zero' Town Hall Seeks Drunk Driving Solutions

LINCOLN, RI — Rhode Island Department of Transportation officials, police, members of the media and community members gathered at the Community College of Rhode Island Campus in Lincoln on Thursday morning for the department's "Road To Zero" town hall. The town hall centered around "The Ripple Effect," the department's advertising campaign aimed at raising awareness about the unforeseen consequences of drunken driving.

"We're looking at the real heart of the problem. It's culture. We need to change the way people think and make decisions," said RIDOT Director Peter Alviti. "Safety is our number one priority at RIDOT. As far as we are concerned, one death is too many. This town hall gives those who have felt the ripple effect the chance to talk about how to change our culture so that driving to endanger others becomes unacceptable."

The Ripple Effect PSAs tell the stories of real-life victims of drunken driving, featuring family members and emergency responders.

Rebecca Bowman-White lost both her mother and best friend in an instant in October 1999 on the way to the Warwick Mall when a drunken driver slammed into their car, killing Marsha Bowman and 14-year-old Katie DeCubellis. Bowman-White described every detail of that afternoon, from asking her brother if they could use his car to asking Katie to switch sides in the backseat to the feeling of panic as the vehicle careened into oncoming traffic before she lost consciousness. Her story was punctuated by DeCubellis' parents, who described what it was like to identify their daughter's body at the hospital in a Ripple Effect video.

"Life is all about making choice. I choose to live a happy, healthy life," Bowman-White said in closing. "We need to find a way to change behavior. We can, and we will."

Other speakers included WPRI's Tim White, Amanda Milkovits of the Boston Globe, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, Rhode Island State Police Colonel James Manni and NBC 10's Mario Hilario.

Over the next decade, RIDOT will be implementing a highway safety plan with the goal of completely eliminating roadway deaths in the state.