Utahns can now practice DUI jail call

[August 29, 2009]  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- In Utah, even if you don't get arrested for drunk driving you might still have to call your mom from jail - sort of.

The Utah Highway Patrol and some local bars hope letting people practice an uncomfortable call from the local lockup will help dissuade drinking and driving.

A phone number has been set up to recreate what it would feel like to make such a call. After dialing 1-877-JAIL-FON, the caller is given the option to talk to a hysterical mother or a disapproving father, among others. A prerecorded message then plays one end of what the conversation might sound like, with the caller filling in the other half.

Slogans associated with the campaign include "Getting a DUI is easy, calling your mom from jail is hard."

The campaign runs through Sept. 7.

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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com

[Associated Press]

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