Texas Department of Transportation held a press conference at the Brown County Courthouse in front of a display of 250 flags representing Texans tragically lost each year to alcohol-related crashes to promote its Faces of Drunk Driving safety campaign Tuesday morning.

Darah Waldrip, public information officer for the TxDOT Abilene/Brownwood Districts stated that in 2012, there were approximately 25,000 alcohol related crashes in the state of Texas which resulted in 1170 deaths and 9458 serious injuries.

“We are here today to remind drivers to drive sober today and every day,” said Waldrip.  “Alcohol related crashes are on the rise in Texas and we must do all we can to stop them.  The toll they take on individuals and their families just can’t be measured.  These numbers alone can’t describe the impact on individuals and their families.”

She stated in just the Brownwood District of TxDOT, which covers a 9 county area; there were 7 fatalities and 74 injuries in alcohol related crashes last year.

These statistics represents thousands of lives negatively impacted by people choosing to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. As part of the drunk-driving awareness campaign, the TxDOT press conference also featured information on the new Faces of Drunk Driving website recently launched at