Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver

The Florida Department of Transportation is focused on Target Zero and the goal of zero deaths on our roadways. District Two’s Community Traffic Safety Program has addressed traffic safety issues in Northeast Florida for almost three decades. We have promoted the Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver campaign and Recipes for the Road since 1998. According to Florida’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), one out of every four traffic fatalities in Florida involves a driver impaired by alcohol or drugs.

During the holiday season, District Two Community Traffic Safety Team (CTST) members reach out to local restaurants and bars to display the Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver campaign. In the past, materials include 11×17 full-color posters, coasters, stickers, and nonalcoholic recipe books. Numerous neighborhood establishments throughout Northeast Florida participate every year. CTST members, partners, and agencies may click here to order posters and recipe cards for distribution while supplies last.

2025 Celebrate Safely Poster

Impaired Driving Initiative

The Celebrate Safely impaired driving initiative was created to help reduce alcohol-related traffic deaths and injuries throughout the holiday season. Safety messages are vital at any time of year, especially during the holidays. Important impaired driving safety tips and reminders included in this campaign:

  • Before drinking alcohol, designate a non-drinking driver.
  • Never let your friends drive impaired.
  • Get a safe ride home – call a cab or ride-share service.
  • If you’re hosting a party, offer alcohol-free beverages, serve food, and ensure all guests leave with a sober driver.

Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver and Recipes for the Road focus on the SHSP strategies of both education and insight into creating safer communities, by working with local partners. This includes law enforcement, team members, restaurants, and bars. The goal is to promote responsible alcohol service and personal use at events or party hosting. They also promote safe transportation choices that encourage alternatives to driving while impaired.

Free Social Media Resources

Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver 2025 social media graphic

Be a positive influencer and a Community Traffic Safety Team “Virtual Volunteer.” Share these #CelebrateSafely images and reminders on your social media accounts. Don’t forget to follow and tag us! @trafficsafetyteam on Facebook and Instagram or @trafficsafetyfl on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver 2024 social media graphic
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2021 Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver Social Media Graphic
2018 Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver Social Media Graphic
2013 Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver Social Media Graphic
2010 Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver Social Media Graphic
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Mocktails • Recipes • Safety Tips

These delicious nonalcoholic drink mocktails, recipes, and safety tips are part of the Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver and Recipes for the Road campaigns. The FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program has produced unique mocktails and shared nonalcoholic drinks from local Northeast Florida restaurants and bars since 1998. In 2017, we introduced alcohol-free recipe videos for the 20th Annual Recipes for the Road. Since then, we have made various recipe videos to promote celebrating safely.

Seasonal Mocktails, Recipes, and Traffic Safety Tips

We hope you watch, share, and enjoy our alcohol-free drink recipes, appetizer and meal recipes, and safe ABCs of partying tips below. EVEN ONE DRINK of alcohol can slow your reflexes and reaction time, reduce your ability to see clearly, and make you less alert. Be a part of a safety culture focused on preventing injuries and fatalities on our roads.

2024 Favorite Hot Caramel Mocha Mocktail Recipe
New, Easy No-Back Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Always Celebrate Safely

Please be responsible! If you’ve been drinking, designate a sober driver or call a cab or rideshare service. If you are hosting a party, offer guests alcohol-free beverage options and food, and make sure they have a safe ride home!

Grasshopper Mocha Mocktail
Peach Bella Bellini
Cran-Raspberry Holiday Punch

Candy Cane Mocktini
Nojito Mojito
Hot Citrus Cider

Check out our alcohol-free cocktails and food recipes for all the festive holidays and events. We’ve got something for everyone: Sweet Valentine’s Day, spicy Super Bowl Sunday, lucky St. Patrick’s Day, and festive Cinco de Mayo. All-American observation days like Memorial Day, Independence Day / 4th of July, and Labor Day are also included. Don’t forget about spooky Halloween, family Thanksgiving or Friends-Giving days, holiday office or neighborhood parties, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.

Dreamy Hot Cocoa Recipe and The Marshmallow Snowman
Green Grinch Punch Recipe and Grinch Kabob Instructions

Party Favorite Food Recipes

Sweet & Salty White Chocolate Snack Mix
Festive Holiday Cranberry Brie Appetizer Bites
Chicken Enchilada Quinoa Soup
Cheesy Breadstick Twists
Meatball Slider Pull-Apart Appetizer
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Defensive Driving Tools for Safety

Defensive Driving Tools for Safety was written and presented by Jeff Hohlstein, a Community Traffic Safety Team member in Clay County, Florida. This educational driving and traffic safety presentation is geared toward aging road users. However, these are essential tips and reminders for all drivers.

Defensive Driving Tools for Safety Presentation:

Learn about setting side view mirrors for blind spots. Understand the importance of keeping a safe following distance and obeying the speed limit. Maintaining a safe following distance is a good idea for all drivers to keep in mind. While this rule is flexible and isn’t always appropriate in every driving situation, it can foster good driving habits that reduce the risk of rear-end collisions and similar accidents. In addition, being a safe driver can earn discounts on auto insurance premiums.

Gain an understanding of observing a vehicle’s front wheels, approaching intersections safely, and scanning through a signalized intersection. Learn how to use the OODA Loop while driving. OODA is an acronym for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. When you do it again and again, it becomes a constant decision loop. Retired Colonel John Boyd, USAF, developed this rapid decision-making tool. Today, OODA is used by many Armed Forces and Police agencies and can be used as a defensive driving tool for motorists.

Most people set their side view mirrors straight back and miss their blind spot completely. The video covers how to set your side view mirrors to cover your blind spot.

This video discusses how to use OODA to stay safe while driving. Defensive driving is much about managing space around your vehicle. The most controllable area you have is your safe following distance. OODA will help you do that right. OODA will also help you develop scan patterns for navigating intersections and avoiding a collision when someone unsafely enters your right-of-way.  

Uses of OODA in defensive driving:

  • Observe > Following distance, traffic patterns; intersections of all kinds; vehicles around you.
  • Orient > Calculate the following distance; identify other potential conflicts.
  • Decide > Action to maintain safe following distance; plan to avoid those other conflicts.
  • Act > Establish/reestablish safe following distance; avoid those other conflicts whether or not the crash would have been your fault.
  • Do it again > Practice OODA until it’s as natural as driving itself.
Jeff Hohlstein presenting Defensive Driving Tools for Safety

Click here to read Jeff Hohlstein’s first article, Three Defensive Driving Tools to Avoid Great Impact, and what the video presentation from 2020.