HERO Campaign Summary

The HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers®, is a federally registered, 501 (c) 3 non profit organization dedicated to preventing drunken driving tragedies by promoting the use of safe and sober designated drivers. Established in October, 2000 in memory of Navy Ensign John Elliott of New Jersey, the campaign has grown to become a national movement to save lives on our highways. Ensign Elliott was a May, 2000 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, who was killed in a head-on collision with a drunken driver on July 22, 2000.

John graduated with merit from the Naval Academy with a B.S. in Systems Engineering and was named the Outstanding HERO (Human Education Resource Officer) in his class for his service to his fellow midshipmen. As a HERO, John was a peer counselor and advocate for his classmates, helping them with academic and personal problems. He was also plebe summer company officer and lecturer, and a member of his division championship racquetball team.

The HERO Campaign promotes the use of sober designated drivers through local chapters in communities and at schools and colleges across the country. Alcohol-related crashes kill 15,000 Americans each year, and injure 350,000 more, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The HERO Campaign was awarded the 2008 Public Service Award by NHTSA for its efforts to prevent drunken driving.

The HERO Campaign is not an anti-drinking campaign, but does promote common sense and responsibility. It’s slogan, “Be a HERO. Be a Designated Driver,” appeals to the hero in all of us.

The HERO Campaign seeks to change behavior in addition to heightening awareness about the epidemic of drunken driving in our country. We want to make having a designated driver be as automatic as wearing a seatbelt. Our goal is to register one million designated drivers nationwide by 2012. Our website includes information on becoming a member and starting a HERO chapter.

Our educational efforts include highway billboards, television commercials, and the distribution of hundreds of thousands of posters, car window decals, brochures and wristbands throughout the country.

Schools and colleges have adopted the campaign, including the University of Delaware, The College of William and Mary. Monmouth University, Rowan University, Temple, Drexel, the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, University of Maryland and the United States Naval Academy.

Bars, taverns and restaurants, licensed beverage associations and restaurant associations have adopted the HERO Campaign and serve free soft drinks to sober designated drivers.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays have adopted the campaign and show the HERO Campaign television commercial on their center field screen before each game. Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands and the Patriot’s Gillette Stadium in Foxboro also have adopted the campaign. HERO booths at eight Live Nation concert sites registered more than 1,700 designated drivers in partnership with TEAM Coalition.

New Jersey, Delaware, New York and Virginia have become HERO States by adopting the campaign along with their offices of highway safety, state police, colleges and universities, sports stadiums, businesses and licensed beverage associations.