December 14, 2009

The Designated Driver Turns 21

Harvard School of Public Health professor Jay Winsten enlisted popular TV shows to reduce drunk-driving fatalities.

The "designated driver" has turned 21—and during that period, the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities has fallen from about 25,000 a year to about 13,000. Today’s Boston Globe reported this news in a brief interview with Jay Winsten, associate dean for public and community affairs at Harvard School of Public Health.

Winsten played a major role in introducing the Scandinavian practice to the United States as a positive solution to the problem of drinking and driving; a major breakthrough was getting popular TV shows to refer to designated drivers in their programming, as the Globe interview and “Drinking and Driving Get Prime Time,” an article from the Harvard Magazine archives, make clear.

You might also like

Woman wearing a silver dress stands confidently against a gray background.

The Emmy-winning journalist was a mainstay of political coverage at NBC for two decades.

A man in a suit waves while smiling, with greenery in the background.

He was Harvard’s quintessential people person.

Several people are holding a large ribbon for a ceremony outside a modern building.

Phase A of the Allston project includes a hotel, residences, and a two-acre greenway.

Most popular

Photo montage showing Harvard’s Widener Library and the edifice of the Supreme Court divided by a gavel.

The Supreme Court Affirmative Action Rulings: An Analysis

The underlying arguments project clashing worldviews of race and appropriate remedies.

Harvey Mansfield seated in a bright yellow chair, surrounded by bookshelves and cozy decor.

The retired government professor has been a rare conservative voice on campus for decades.

A blue refrigerator covered with animal pictures, notes, and drawings, surrounded by greenery.

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

Explore More From Current Issue

Singer performing on stage with a guitar, wearing a hat, and surrounded by band instruments.

Arts & Culture

Singer Elisa Smith’s whiskey-soaked voice and subversive feminism is part of the genre’s urban shift.

A chaotic scene in a messy room with people engaging in various activities, some cleaning.

Harvard History

Until the 1950s, professionals cleaned up after students in the dorms.

Star-filled night sky with the Milky Way arching over a rocky silhouette.

Science

There’s a growing movement to curb light pollution. It starts on your front porch.