From August 8 to September 1, you probably noticed the La Porte Police Department out in full force, targeting one of the deadliest killers on the road: drunk driving. The enforcement was part of the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, to save lives and make our roads safer. Local participation resulted in three drunk driving arrests, 43 citations and 114 warnings. Officers worked 68.5 hours of extra patrols during the blitz and also participated in the August 29 sobriety checkpoints with the rest of the La Porte County DUI Taskforce.
During the 2012 Labor Day weekend (5:59 p.m. Friday through 5:59 a.m. Tuesday), 147 people across the country were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes involving drivers or motorcycle riders with BACs of .08 or higher. That’s 147 fatalities that could have been prevented.
If everyone would drive sober, thousands of lives could be saved each year. In 2012 alone, there were 10,322 people killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in the United States. That’s almost a third of all the traffic crash fatalities for the year.
This year’s crackdown was a success. “Bottom line is we got three drunk drivers off the road and probably deterred a number of others,” said Captain Tom Heath. “If we saved one life, it was well worth it. The officers of the La Porte Police Department went above and beyond their usual enforcement efforts during the crackdown,” he added, “and we think the people of La Porte got the message loud and clear: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”
The La Porte Police Department and thousands of law enforcement agencies around the country teamed up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on the high-visibility enforcement campaign this year. The annual effort aims to reduce drunk driving year-round, not just on those few days. “The campaign may be over,” added Captain Heath, “but the warning remains: ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”
For more information on the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, visit www.TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov.