People flocking to see “The Force Awakens,” the much-anticipated seventh installment in the “Star Wars” series that opens this weekend, will first have to sit through an ad from the federal government warning about the dangers of drunk driving.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administrator Mark Rosekind wrote a blogpost explaining how the NHTSA will use “The Force” to stop drunk driving.
In “Star Wars” terms: If you’re going to attempt to make the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs, don’t hit the cantina before you do.
“If you’re like many Americans, there’s a good chance you’ll be going to the movies in the next couple of weeks,” Rosekind wrote. “There’s also a good chance that in the time it takes to sit through a movie — about two hours — two Americans will die in drunk driving tragedies.”
Audiences will be treated to a new ad on the dangers of drunk driving just before being allowed to enter hyperspace, Rosekind wrote.
The ad purchase cost $7,588,591, a Transportation Department spokesman told the Washington Examiner.
A total of 9,967 people died in drunk driving crashes in the United States in 2014.
The agency’s plan to crackdown on drunk drivers this holiday season is called “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” It will run from Dec. 16 to Jan. 2, with more than 10,000 police departments and law enforcement agencies participating.
A new ad, “Man in the Mirror,” was embedded at the bottom of the blogpost. Watch it here:
